Promising Entirely
by mystic-angel1
Summary: It was a silly promise she'd taken seriously. It was a silly promise he thought she'd forget. A promise she would marry him if he was still alone. But now he pretends to forget. He's distracted and cold. And he's also eight years her senior. Squffie
1. A promise long forgotten

"Promising Entirely."

A/N: Yes, my friends. Find something to hide behind. I am indeed attempting a full blown Squaffie. I randomly had this idea. I think I was in the middle of playing soccer, which doesn't make much sense. But oh well. That's not the point. I hope you all like this! I'll be able to concentrate more on the Squaffiness of this one, since there won't be more rediculously twisted and complicated relationships. (P.S. I love Cloud/Aerith. Really. SO fun to write)

Special Note: There's a really cool community on called Squffielove. If you have a Live journal you should definately check it out. And if you don't, you should get one so that you can check it out. It's a great place to learn about new squaffie fics or fanart. Even websites sometimes. And of course, generally just being crazy and loving Squaffie. So, check it out!

* * *

_The day was a perfect one._

_The air was crisp but not too cool. The sky was the kind of blue that went on forever. Music and laughter floated through the air, and it appeared that everyone and everything was happy. If only for that one day. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow on that perfect, fall day._

_Yuffie Kisaragi tucked her dress neatly around her ankles as she sat down. Her mother would be very angry if she got grass stains on her pretty clothes, and so she opted to sit down in a small pile of raked leaves instead, deep blue eyes scanning the sea below. This was the first wedding she had ever been to, and she didn't understand them. If two people loved one another, they would be together forever anyway, right? So what was the point of involving religion? It seemed unclear. However, her mother had been all too delighted at the prospect. So she supposed weddings couldn't be all bad._

_"Yuffie?"_

_Yuffie quickly tucked her black hair back in its neat bun. She'd promised her family that she would keep neat and tidy on this day. However, she was saved the worry of fixing her appearence as she identified the intruder. Squall Leonhart sat down beside her, chuckling and helping her fix her hair. She'd known Squall for as long as she could remember, he was always stopping by to help her parents with things. He'd become sort of an older brother to her, and she was glad she didn't have to act proper around him._

_"Hi, Squall." She said cheerfully, taking a very red leaf in her hands and shreading it._

_"What are you doing out here by yourself, Yuffie?" He asked her curiously._

_Fighting off the fear that he was reprimanding her, she clasped her cool hands tightly in the lap of her dress, biting her lip as she thought of a suitable answer._

_"Mother and Father were busy with friends." she told him truthfully. "I felt like I was intruding."_

_"Why didn't you come find me, then?" He questioned, pinching her playfully. "You know how bored I am at these sorts of things."_

_She sighed. "I just...don't understand these things, Squall."_

_He looked confused, so she quickly began to explain her thoughts on matrimony. Eventually, his expression cleared and he began to laugh. Weddings weren't all that complicated, he expalined. It was a way for two people to finally tie their love for eachother, in a more officially way than simply saying it. Yuffie tilted her head to the side, comprehending but still lightly flustered._

_"But it doesn't make sense." She told him. "Why should it have to be official? Why do all these people have to see it? My mother always told me love should be a private thing."_

_"Nevermind, Yuf." He chuckled. "You're only seven. Way to young to be thinking about this."_

_"Oh."_

_They sat silent for awhile. The music and laughter mixed with the never-ending blue sky. Everyone seemed to be happy. But then, why was she so confused by the idea? Weddings were just another custom. She'd always thought love was more important than that. But maybe Squall was right. Maybe she _was_ too young._

_She looked up at the fifteen year old that had been her Older Friend for so many years. Brown hair fell in flanks around his face, his blue eyes troubled as they watched the sea. She'd never seen him so reserved before. Had she upset him somehow?_

_"Squall," She questioned him, and he tilted his head to show he was listening. "Will you and Rinoa get married?"_

_He stiffened. "Yuffie!"_

_She flinched at his tone, turning away. "Sorry. I just wondered."_

_He sighed. "It's okay. And no, I don't think so."_

_She gasped. "What? Why not?"_

_Squall looked at her. The small girl was watching him with wide, horrified eyes. Yuffie's outlook on life was that everything should be as it is intended. It was difficult sometimes to explain things to such a simplistic but curious child. But he tried. Partly because he loved her and partly because he strongly disapproved of the way her parents dealed with her. The parents of Yuffie did not have time for such a curious child, it would seem._

_"Just because I'm with her now doesn't mean I'll be with her forever, Yuffie." he said gently._

_"B-but, you love her, don't you?"_

_"Sure I do," He reassured her. "But I might not someday. Everything passes in time, even love."_

_"Then what's the point of getting married!" She cried in frustration, tugging at her dress._

_He sighed, rubbing the skin on his forehead in annoyance. She squeaked and shut her mouth. Despite his calm and patient nature with her, he could be pretty scary when he was annoyed. And the rubbing of his forehead was a gesture that he was becoming annoyed. They were going in circles with this conversation. Maybe it was time for a new subject._

_"Well.." She hesitated. "Do you think you'll _ever_ get married?"_

_"Maybe." He picked up a leaf. "I'm not really sure."_

_She eyed him. "What if you _never_ get married?"_

_"Then I don't. Its not a big deal." He stood, brushing shreads of leaves from his dress pants._

_She stood as well. "The thought of being alone doesn't bug you?"_

_He stiffened. "That's enough, Yuffie."_

_But Yuffie was way beyond stopping point. Squall watched as the young girl chattered away about love and loneliness and the silliness of weddings. He'd have to remind her parents to watch her daily sugar intakes, and the amount of sleezy romance novels she could stumble upon._

_"Squall." The seriousness in her voice caught his attention. "If you're not married by the time you should be, I'll marry you."_

_He blinked at her. He saw the seriouness on her face. The twinkle of mad brilliance in her eye. And he couldn't help it. He burst out laughing._

_"Yuffie," he cackled, picking her up. "I'm eight years older than you!"_

_"So?" She glared at him for his laughter. "Eight years isn't that much once we're older."_

_He rolled his eyes. This child was so ridiculous. Perhaps that was partly why he loved her so much. She was getting very angry with him, since he wasn't taking her seriously. Finally, he relented. After all, what were the chances she would remember fifteen years from now? And if she did, what were the chances she would take it seriously? It couldn't hurt to tell Yuffie what she wanted to hear._

_"Alright, Yuf." He smiled. "If I'm not married by the time I'm...thirty, I'll marry you."_

_She brightened. "Really?"_

_He patted her head. "Really."_

_Tiny arms wrapped themselves tightly around his neck. He smiled, holding her to him and sitting back down in the pile of leaves again. Eventually, Yuffie became impatient again, pulling out of his hold and making quick work of tying his shoe laces together. He didn't have enough heart to tell her to stop._

_"Hey, you two!"_

_The two of them glanced up as Rinoa Heartilly made her way down the small hill. Yuffie immediately hopped of her friend, fixing her dress in the presense of such a pretty lady. She suddenly remembered where they were, the laughter and music of the wedding mixing with the endless blue sky and setting her thoughts at a million times a minute. Squall sat up as well, smiling as the young woman finally stopped to stand beside them._

_"You look lovely, Yuffie." The girl told her kindly._

_"Thank you, Rinoa!" Yuffie beamed. "You look lovely too!"_

_Rinoa winked, ruffling Yuffie's hair. "But we don't want to look too lovely right?"_

_"Of course not." Yuffie assured her seriously. "But I _did_ promise my mother."_

_"Oh, right." She smiled. "We'll have to be unlovely another day then. Now, do you mind if I borrow Squall?"_

_Yuffie tilted her head, as if confused. Could Squall be borrowed? Was he a possesion of some kind? Rinoa and Squall exchanged a look as her eyes narrowed slightly, preparing themselves for what they knew would surely be an unending attack of questions._

_Yuffie only smiled. "I suppose so."_

_Squall grinned, taking his turn to mess up Yuffie's hair. Yuffie grumbled as she attempted to fix it, heatedly reminding them of her promise to her mother. But the two were already gone, laughing and holding hands. A odd sense of emptiness filled her, something she was too young to understand. And so, she sat down in her pile of leaves again, tucking her dress neatly under her._

_I'll remember our deal, Squall. I won't let you be alone._

Yuffie Kisaragi sat up quickly. She had to blink a few times to get the blue sky and crisp air from her mind and eyes. It was instantly replaced by the white ceiling of her bedroom and the cold air only the castle could provide. Letting out a resolute sigh, she shrugged out of her covers, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

She squeaked and hopped around the room as the cold air hit her skin. She made her way quickly over to her bedroom window, slamming it shut and wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm. Personally, she hated sleeping in the cold. But her time spent sleeping in the same room as stick-up-my-butt Leon had gotten her addicted to leaving the window open, since he wouldn't sleep with it closed. Even now, four years after she'd left Traverse Town, she couldn't get rid of his annoying habbit.

The halls of the Castle were slightly warmer as she made her way through them, probably due to the many fires that had been lit early that morning. She was curious as to why it was so cold. She didn't remember Hollow Bastion having such a cold climate, and yet everyday she woke up and her room was freezing. Then again, she'd never really been outside at night when she'd lived here. She'd been too young and her parents wouldn't allow it. Maybe it only got cold at night.

She composed herself as she stopped in front of the wooden oak doors that led to the kitchen. Pushing them open with a flourish, she was greeted with the sight of her companions sitting at the table. Only Aerith seemed to notice her entrance, giving her a warm smile and a wave.

"Good morning, Yuffie!"

Yuffie smiled. Aerith frowned at her lover seated across the table. Cloud was busy reading a paper of some sort, usually spiky blond hair messy and falling loosely in front of his face. Aerith smacked him in the back of the head, and he looked up at her in such astonishment that Yuffie really beleived he had no clue what had been going on around him.

"Say good morning!" She hissed at him.

He blinked and turned his eyes at the small ninja standing in the doorway. Yuffie merely shurgged under his gaze. She was used to the fact that Cloud wasn't someone who was overjoyed at greeting someone in the morning and therefor wasn't bothered by it. But it seemed Aerith considered this general impoliteness. Then again, Cloud wasn't one to be told what to do either.

He grunted and flicked a piece of cereal at her. Yuffie caught it easily and placed it in her mouth, chewing it with relish as she sat down at the table. Aerith eyed her apologetically, as if embarrassed for Cloud's rudeness. Yuffie grinned at her and shrugged.

"That's good enough for me, Aer." She reassured the Flower Girl. "What's on the menu?"

Aerith sighed at the impossibility of her lover and friend.

"Its make it yourself day." She told her. "We've run out of bread, so there's cereal if you're too lazy to make something."

Yuffie shrugged and grabbed the cereal box. "I'll pick some bread up today."

"I was reading that, Yuffie."

Yuffie glanced up. Leon was glaring at her from across the table, pointing at the innocent cereal box that Yuffie was holding in her hand. With a careless shrug, Yuffie began to pour cereal into the bowl placed in front of her. However, her movement was interrupted as Leon reached across the table and snatched it back. She stared at him in shock as he began to read the side of the box again, hardly even throwing her a glance.

"Leon, how many times have you read the fricken' cereal box?" She hissed.

He moved the box as she attempted to snatch it back. "I'm reading it. You can have it when I'm done."

She slid back into her seat, arms folding over her chest. "I hope you don't think you're some kind of Supreme Being. Why don't you just let me pour the cereal and then you can read it while I'm eating?"

"Stop being asinine." He said without much interest. "You can have it when I'm done."

Cloud and Aerith moved at the same time that Yuffie opened her mouth to reply. Cloud tipped the cereal from his bowl into hers while Aerith snatched the box from Leon and replaced it with another one for him to read. Blinking at the joint solution they had created, the two shared a small smile before departing from the room. Yuffie and Leon could be dangerous when their anger was joined together against _them_.

Yuffie snorted, done complaining as she began to shovel Cloud's leftovers into her mouth. Leon crinkled his nose watching her eat with some disgust before slamming the box down. Yuffie cast her eyes on him as he stood and made his way over to the door, picking up his weapon.

"We argued over a cereal box today." She said conversationally.

"I was reading it." He said, tossing his jacket over his shoulder.

She sighed. This man was impossible sometimes. "Okay, you were reading it."

He made a small sound of satisfaction, and she rolled her eyes at him. She watched as he made his way to leave, probably off to train unnecessarily. He was so steadfast. He'd always been. But when she tried to fit Leon into the boy she'd once knew it just didn't click. He was so different.

"Squall?" She called out to him, and he stopped.

"Leon." He corrected her, glancing at her from over his shoulder.

"Um, I was just wondering." She hesitated, feeling herself flush. "Do you remember–."

"No." He turned away. "The answer's always no, Yuffie."

She glared at him. "There's a difference between not _wanting_ to remember and not being _able_ to."

He looked as though he was going to comment. Then he shrugged.

"Whatever."

She winced. How did she know he was going to say that? 'Whatever' was more or less Leon's _only_ comment. She sighed. There was no getting around him.

"Where are you going?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Training." He replied, making his way towards the exit again.

"Can I come?" She asked hopefully, although she knew the answer to this too.

"No." He answered, and he was gone.

She sighed, pushing her bowl away from her and resting her head on the table. Squall was so stubborn and annoying and cold and cruel and...alone. The coldness he portrayed didn't hurt her for her, but for him. It was an odd emotion. Maybe it was that promise she'd silently made to him that day. The promise he couldn't or wouldn't seem to remember. She didn't want him to be alone.

She sighed, rubbing the skin on her forehead just like him.

Yet he was so _insistant_.

She grinned suddenly, dumping her bowl in the sink and putting the breakfast materials away. She wouldn't let Leon dampen her spirits. After all, she really knew that deep down beside all that hostility there was a Squall that still cared about her.

She could be stubborn too. She would do anything to help him find that kind and caring Squall even if it was the last thing he wanted and the last thing she would ever do. She was Yuffie Kisaragi! The Greatest Ninja Ever. Not even Cold Leon could get rid of her that easily.

Finishing her cleaning by wiping the counter, she bent down under the table and picked up her weapons. Pushing open the door and stepping into the sunlight, she grinned.

Oh no. It was take much more to make her forget her promise.

_I'll remember our deal, Squall. I won't let you be alone._

* * *

So. How did you all like? This was a completely random idea, I must say. But I think it just might work out. SO! Tell me what you think? 

This story is taking place A.S (after Sora) by a few years, so remember that they're all a little older and living in the castle now instead of Traverse Town. Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to fit our favourite Key Bearer into the story. Maybe a flash back or two, but I'm trying to keep this mainly a pure squaffie.

I thought about doing an AU, in which they live in the 'real world'. And I would have made Squall a cold business tycoon or something like that. I might write an AU one day, but since this is one of my first Squaffies I think I'm going to take this one easy.

Please Review! Thanks for reading!


	2. Too late for second thoughts

"Promising Entirely."

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Squall's leather pants, or any discoveries made on the topic of bipolar disease. Thank you.

A/N: This chapter features a CloudAerith moment and a temper tantrum from Squall. Enjoy, for that is all I have to say!

Deplora: I'm glad you liked the story line. Since it was the first chapter, that's a good thing! I hope you continue to like it, though. I'm terribly sorry about my muse hurting yours by the way. I shall have to throughly punish it, since the last thing I need is you to have a sullen, leon-like muse. hands you a Squall plushie For your army, of course.

Kimou: Why thank you! I'm afraid this chapter isn't quite as cute but I hope you enjoy it!

Ghettotaku: AH! Isn't it? Along with conspicuous. And dumpling. And you used "squee!" in your review! That is the best non-existant word ever. I praise you for your knowledgeableness in words.

Yuffie Kisaragi2: More rare is the time that squffie fans are IN our right minds. We're all very rabid, or most of us anyway. Which is why its good we have a community, so we take our rabidness out on eachother instead on innocent bystanders. Hehe! I'm glad you liked it! Sorry it took me awhile to update, but now that school is here its a little harder.

The Contessa: AH! Ritz Bitz! I LOVE Ritz Bits! Thank you mucho! hands you a Squall plushie Since you were cool enough to give me crackers and for reviewing.

Joy Blue: Its reviews like yours that make me the most happy. I really hope you like this chapter, although its not as cute as the last. But it will get more cute as the story goes on!

* * *

It was a tingling sensation that covered his skin when Squall stepped through the large wooden doors of the west entrance. The warmth from the fires touched his skin instantly as his lungs gasped for breath from breathing cold air so long. Still, the tingly feeling did nothing to lighten his mood as he stepped on to the plush carpet. In fact, he glared moodily at the cackling flames that were blaring to his left. Cursed it for making the castle warm when it should have been cold without its people here.

His companions would all like to pretend that everything had gone back to normal. But they were mistaken. Hollow Bastion was almost empty, its villages occupied by less than a third of its original population. Its climate was in disarray, increasingly cold each day and freezing even the littlest of waters in the cold country where the castle stood. The World was injured and it wasn't going to get better no matter how much the Three Musketeers pretended everything was alright.

His feet made a loud thud each time they stepped down on the stairs, fists clenching and unclenching in unexplained anger. The castle was so lifeless and empty he could _feel_ it, making the tingling in his skin a mockery. Nothing should be warm or happy here. Not while the World was still lifeless. Dark blue irises darkened, and Leon pushed open the doors to the library with a bang.

Yuffie and Cloud were lying in the middle of the floor, heads resting together and bodies vertical to each other as they read. Aerith was on the second level, frowning at a set of dusty yellow books and trying to rearrange them in logical order. Squall stood in the doorway with his dark thoughts, willing himself not to soften at the sight of them..._living_.

Yuffie felt Cloud's head shift as his hair brushed against hers. She refused to look up on Leon's dramatic entrance, knowing without looking that he was angry about one thing or another. Although she wanted him to be at least a little happy, she'd tried and failed many times to speak to him when he got in one of his 'moods.' She settled her head against Cloud's again as he turned back to his book, raising her voice a little over a mutter so Leon would hear.

"Is that Leon?" She flipped a page casually in her book.

"Yeah." Cloud flipped a page in his own, fighting a grin as Leon glared at them.

"Is he in a good mood today?" She asked, raising her voice a tiny bit more.

"Nope." Cloud informed her, turning his gaze to Leon, who had molded his face to look impassive, ignoring them as he leafed through a book Aerith had left on the table. Yuffie tilted her head around to grin at Cloud, groaning as she sat up and tossing her book to the side.

"So how was training today, Leon?" Yuffie questioned as she stood. "Kill any, you know, rabbits?"

Aerith turned from the upper bookshelf, giving her a look from behind Leon's back that clearly told her to cut it out. Yuffie shrugged under her gaze, sliding her book back into its appropriate slot. Leon continued to ignore all of them, attempting to calm his already fueled anger before he said something to her that would get Aerith and Cloud upset. It was a difficult process, however, as Yuffie stood behind his back to read over his shoulder.

"Whatcha reading?" Yuffie said cheerfully, getting at least an annoyed sigh out of him.

"Ten Ways to Kill a Ninja." He told her seriously. "Want to read it?"

"Its snowing again." Cloud said quietly, interrupting what would have been an argument.

Aerith smiled down at him and hopped off the ladder to join him at the window. Yuffie smiled as Cloud wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they watched the magical white fluff fall to the ground. She couldn't be happier for the pair of them, gushy more than disgusted of how much they were in love. As far as she was concerned, they deserved all the public affection they wanted, after what they'd been through. Leon continued to ignore them, and Yuffie felt a swift buzz of anger at him for not even being a little happy for Aerith. Aerith who'd healed them after battles, Aerith who'd been their friend.

"Come on." Yuffie said to him. "Let's leave them alone."

"Its not their library." He muttered, but got up anyway, closing Ten Ways to Kill a Ninja with a tantrum-like snap and walking heavily out of the library. Yuffie caught up with him quickly, fed up with his sullen and slightly childish behavior. And he called her a child? Ha!

"What's with you today?" She questioned as he strode ahead of her and down the hall.

"I'm having second thoughts about this place." He growled, banging his shoulder roughly against the wall as he turned the corner.

"It appears to me that you _actually_ have bipolar disorder." She caught up with him and grabbed his arm, fingers clutching tightly to the leather of his jacket. Leon's whole body leaned away from her as if he longed to rip himself away and continue his torrent down the hall. But he stilled, and Yuffie took that chance to catch her breath. "Second thoughts? Squall, it's a little late for second thoughts. We've been here for at least three years."

"Leon." He said, brushing her off.

"Look, is this about this morning?" She tilted her head, trying to get a proper look of his face. His bangs were flat over his eyes again, his lips pulled in tightly. Sure, she loved to annoy and frustrate him. But it was rare that she made him this angry. "I didn't want to make you this mad."

"Don't be stupid." He scoffed, lifting his head and allowing his cold eyes to meet hers for the briefest of moments. "Nothing you can say will faze me in the least."

She snorted. "Right. You should really stop acting so cheerful, Squall. It will ruin your image."

He turned his face away from hers, fists clenching at his sides as he brushed past her. Yuffie watched as his face disappeared behind his hair again, remembering how he'd used to hate his bangs. Remembering how his eyes used to be bright and cheerful, showing every emotion as it was felt. She remembered the nice boy she had once loved as she watched the cold, leather-clad man he'd turned into walk away from her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream, but she did know that fate was a cruel, cruel aspect of life.

"You don't remember do you?"

He turned his head back to look at her in confusion. "What?"

She took a single step forward, shaking her head sadly. "I thought that maybe you were pretending. I thought you did remember and you were just lying by saying you don't."

He sighed. "Remember what, Yuffie?"

"When I..." The young ninja seemed to change her mind half way through her sentence, eyes closing as she hesitated and finally sighed. "We used to be friends."

His eyes flickered for a second. Squall Leonhart eyed the tiny young woman standing at the end of the hall. Her expression wasn't sad as much as it was regretful, as if she thought somehow that how he felt was her fault. A part of him that he'd long since killed wanted to reach out to her, reassure her that it wasn't entirely her fault. But the emptiness of the castle still buzzed against his skin and he turned away. He always turned away.

"Things change." He told her, his voice hoarse. "We changed."

"I know." She said quietly. "I'm more grown-up then you think."

He closed his eyes, turning his head away and making his way up the hall again. Yuffie sighed sadly in her place, turning her own back and preparing to find something to do with her time. She could no longer relate to him. She didn't know who he was anymore.

"Squall," She said, before he reached the end of the hall. "Its not..my fault, is it?"

He wasn't sure what she was talking about. But that part of him that seemed to becoming alive again, despite his desperation not to let it live, burst through his heart like a ray of light and controlled his voice before he could think.

"No." He murmured, gloved hand closing over his bedroom door. "No."

Yuffie stood in the hall with her back turned long after he had gone into his bedroom and shut his door. Dark blue eyes stared intensely at the red lining of the carpet, fingers tapping rhythmically against her sides. Then her thoughts cleared, smile spreading over her face as she stretched her arms above her head. If Squall wasn't going to try, she was going to make him. Yes, she would make him remember. Her mother's last words of advice were important to her, after all. Keep your clothes neat;

And always keep your promises.

* * *

Ehh. Bleh. It's a chapter. And its here. And its written, and for once I don't feel so bad about not being happy about it. You know, its amazing really. I've decided not to rewrite any of my stories, because my earliest stories are the crapiest of the crap. But its shown how much I've grown and learned how to write. And I may not be amazing, but at least I know I'm a little bit better than I was when I started, right? Right.

Keee! Hope you enjoyed! Review please!


	3. Trying too hard

"Promising Entirely."

Disclaimer: I am protesting against Disclaimers. So I don't own Kingdom Hearts anyway. But I'm not going to tell you that because I'm protesting the whole idea.

A/n: Hah ha ha hah hah haha. (( CRAYOLA ))

Eh...ignore my weirdness.

Deplora: Aye. 'Tis a work in progress, don't you worry. You know what I was thinking? Leon is kind of like the Hulk in a way. Except, instead of having this great violent beast inside of him, Leon has this nice, compassionate Squall. So. We have no problems if Leon rips his shirt off when he turns into Squall, right?

Joy Blue: Ah. I've never seen Rurouni Kenshin. I'm kind of low on the anime thing. I've watched all the common ones you can see on Canadian television, that make them seem like they should be watched by five year olds. You know, the only cool ones I've seen are Escaflowne and Gundam Wing (YTV stopped showing those) and Inuyasha. But I've never managed to get a hold of the cool ones. Its sad. Actually, I'm not sure that book is actually existant. But I'll have to look! If not, we will right one. Our penname, of course, will be Squall Leonhart.

The Frogness: Ah. I am sorry about the shortness that are my chapters. Your review made me the happiest. **hands you a Squall plushie**

The Contessa: **blinks** That dance was truly spectacular. In fact, I used it in this chapter. Watch out for that. Actually, I DID notice the Dark eyes Darkening thing. But I thought no one would notice. I would give you a Squall plushie, but you already have one... oh well. **hands you a Squall plushie** You can start an army, like Deplora. I like the cheese best. Heh. SHNIBLIK?

Kimou: Merci Merci! Here is ze update! Hope it was quick enough, though I doubt it.

Yuffie Kisaragi2: Meggese very much excused! In fact, I think gravy-n-a-half will have to be the newest expression. Ah. Sorry for making you wait so long. You should try putting the flavor salt on the popcorn. Its good. Heh. But it was Thanksgiving for me this weekend, cuz I live in Canada, eh? Otherwise I would have updated sooner. Squee.

October Breeze: Quey! I'm not sure if I should be sorry I made you cry. Eye waterings are okay, but I didn't mean to make you dash off and sob. Now I feel quite bad. Er...I'll dedicate a fluffy chapter just for you since I made you cry earlier. I would give you tissues with Squall's face on it..but I'm not sure if he'd appreciate having his face blown into. Heh. Thank you so much for reviewing! P.S. Yes, I know about my Squaffie thing. I've tried to correct it, but its like my fingers are programmed to complete the word Squall before I add the ffie on. I think Im getting better though!

Taryn: You have me figured out. I can't end a story of this type without having a fluff fest, as I hate it when I read fics with a simple sad ending. It makes me feel so...lip quiver Unwhole! I want you to know that this review touched me greatly, and gets a special place in my hall of fame. (Er..I don't actually have one...but you get the idea) If I ever feel bad about my writing, this is the review I'll turn to. Squee is an amazing word, ain't it?

Sora no Hairo Yuk: Will do! If only for you guys. You all make me so happy. Thank you so much for clicking on the story title and reviewing. You rock.

P.S. I love you all.

* * *

Squall Leonhart was a mess. Not the kind that left his clothes lying around; he would die by his own blade before he let his precious leather touch the ground. Nor was he the kind to leave his things untidy, as Yuffie could feel the stiffness caused by the cleanliness of the room. But it was the tiniest things that she noticed; the way that the door creaked extra loud due to lack of oil, the way his door lock was so jammed even she had a hard time picking it. Squall was not only emotionless and cold, but it seemed he was also paranoid. She would have to put that on her things-to-do-to-turn-Leon-into-a-human list..

He seemed calm enough while he slept. He was the type of person who looked beautiful (more so than he did during the day, if it were possible) while sleeping. All relaxed lips and fanning eyelashes. She would have smiled if she didn't know that he had the Gunblade in arms reach, and she knew from experience that he woke every half hour to scan the room for danger. In fact, she had used the knowledge to plan her one-way trip into his bedroom.

On cue, unfocused blue eyes fluttered open and immediately landed on her small but amused-looking figure. It seemed that Leon had gone into fast-forward mode to Yuffie's untrained eyes, and the cool metal of the Gunblade was against her throat faster than she could squeak. Leon didn't relent even after his eyes had focused on her face, and Yuffie wondered if he actually planned to kill her.

"Hiya, Leon!" She rasped. "Eh..good morning!"

"Yuffie." He growled, taking the Gunblade away from her neck, and Yuffie sighed in relief, glaring at him as she rubbed her throat.

"Sorry if I startled you." She said unconvincingly.

But Leon was ignoring her. He set his weapon down beside his bed, shifting on top of his blanket and throwing his arm out as he turned his back to her. Yuffie stood in the middle of his freezing cold room for a long moment, staring at his toned back with shocked disbelief. Was he going back to sleep?

She shrugged helplessly. If he was going to make this difficult for her, she would make it difficult for him. After sharing a bed for years, she knew that particular way in which he needed to lie to be comfortable. Grinning cheerily, she flung herself on to the bed, her weight causing Leon to bounce slightly as his end of the mattress shifted. Leon attempted to shift his body back into 'his' position, and found that he couldn't with Yuffie lying on his arm.

"Get out." He growled, trying to move his arm from under her. "Now."

"The sun will be up in a half hour." She said to him. "I thought we'd get a head start."

"We?" He turned his head to look at her. "Personally, I don't think I've ever seen you up before sunrise. In fact, I don't think I've seen you up before sunset."

"It's a rare occasion." She agreed, much to his surprise. They hardly ever agreed, even about the stupid things like what color the sky was. "So get up."

"You're not coming with me." He said, sitting up. "I told you. Get out."

Confused as to how what had seemed to be the beginning of a conversation was turned into that, Yuffie stood off his bed and clasped her hands behind her back. If Leon attacked her to get her out, at least he'd be showing some form of emotion. Showing him how he felt. She'd had a curious desire to get inside his mind ever since she had first met him after their world had been destroyed, a thirst that had grown as she had come to know the new him. The old Squall had to have gone somewhere. She'd wanted to know where he had gone and why he had gone there.

"I'll be good, I promise!" She insisted. "I'm really rusty from not fighting so long. I just want to train. I won't even talk, I promise!"

He shook his head as he pulled a shirt over it. It was odd how comfortable they were around each other despite the fact that they didn't get along. She supposed it was because they had been roommates for so long. And even Squall, who was probably the most conservative person she'd ever met, had no problem when it came to modesty around her.

"I find that hard to believe." He drawled, as he finished with his belts. He bent past her grinning face to pick up the Gunblade and headed for the door. "But I can't stop you from following me, I suppose."

Happy and touched at the small but unusual allowance he was giving her, Yuffie did a small, imbecilic victory dance (A/N: All choreographic rights go to The Contessa!) before following him out and into the dark hallway. Squall gave her an odd look, partly to discouredge her from following him, and partly wondering why she would want to come with him in the first place.

The sun was just beginning to rise when they exited the castle, casting a fire-like glow over the frost that littered the ground. Leon stared straight into the sun as he walked, Yuffie trailing after him as he lead to where he disappeared to each and every day. He looked back over his shoulder and sighed, defeated at the sight of her trailing behind.

There was something about the way he looked this morning. Calm and allowing, when he was usually curt and brash. Perhaps he was ashamed of the unusual, even for him, anger he'd steamed to them the day before. In any case, there was something sad about the way his eyes looked, not hard and glaring like they usually were.

Maybe he'd had a _real_ good dream.

Yuffie stopped in confusion when he stopped and pulled out his Gunblade. The area was nothing special, surrounded by open field. She wondered briefly why she had never seen him training here before. But she'd promised not to talk and so she couldn't question her thoughts. Instead, she raised her eyebrow in his general direction.

"Hope you're not as rusty as you say you are." He mumbled. "And if you talk...."

He left the threat open, but Yuffie wasn't worried. She had no intention of talking.

But it was a hard promise to keep. She was a little rusty, but it was nothing in comparison to what she was in Squall. His speed wasn't the problem; speed had never been his forte when it came to sparring. But he was unusually unenergetic in his swipes, shoulders trembling with effort and small beads of sweat appearing in no time. In fact, it looked as if Squall Leonhart was just as out of shape as herself.

"What's _with_ you today?" She burst after a few hours, when the cuts on his arm from her shurikens were beginning to make him look like a Zebra.

He ignored the fact she'd broken her vow of silence. Panting quietly as he set his weapon down, he shrugged his shoulders indifferently. As if his own skills weren't important to him in the slightest. And although he was a great warrior, mercilessly sexual and even a little smart, Squall Leonhart was not a very good actor. He was looking at his hands, as if he couldn't figure out why they weren't doing their job.

"Maybe you're sick." She said slowly, although she didn't really think that was the reason. "I mean... the air is kind of cold if you keep your window open at night."

"Keep your mouth shut." He growled. "I thought you didn't break promises."

She almost laughed out loud at how ironic his words were. Instead, she settled for a innocent tilt of her head, one of which made Squall roll his eyes. He whipped his forehead with a shrug, and Yuffie was reminded that he really wasn't invincible.

'_What makes you think that?_' She thought. '_You didn't think that in the Traverse days._'

But the fact that Squall had changed for the weirder still remained. She'd gotten a little bit older from her experiences, while Squall seemed to darken despite the celebration that Sora had created. They'd been close when they were young, partners in Traverse. But now that they had no purpose of being around each other, Yuffie was brought to the harsh truth that Squall had changed. She'd known Squall once. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know Leon. But she had a solution. She'd bring Squall back, even if that Squall no longer had any desire to marry young, naïve little Yuffie.

"Maybe its because we didn't eat." She said, once he stared at her while she spaced. "Aerith and Cloud should be up by now. We'll eat a good breakfast and then come back out."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

He turned towards the castle without even a glance. Why had he let her come in the first place? Of course she would notice....

Yuffie lowered her eyebrows and gave him the most confused look she could ever mold her face into. Maybe his actions were simply caused by the particular position of the sun at that point in time.

But his odd behavior continued even after they ate. Besides the fact that he'd agreed to return to the castle in the first place was enough to shock her, but not as much as when he gave Aerith a small smile when she served him a large plate of pancakes. Even Cloud had submerged from his habit of staring at Aerith enough to look disturbed. It wasn't that he was being nice or anything. He was simply being civil.

Which was a large step for cold, emotionless, paranoid Leon.

* * *

"I come bearing drugs."

Leon remained absolutely still, his body stretched out on his bed and his face burried in his arms. Yuffie grimaced slightly, setting the tray of medicine down on his bedside table. It would be too much for her equilibrium if Leon was asleep at this time a day. There was only so much overly odd behaviour she could stand.

"Squall?" She whispered. "Oops. Eh...Leon?"

He didn't move. Grimacing for her own sake, she reached out to him and gently poked his back. She heard him hiss into his arms and knew he was already awake. Slightly peeved at the fact that he hadn't answered her when she'd spoken, she took two large handfuls of his blanket and pulled it away from him. She gasped and he hissed at the same time. His back was covered in red, crescent shaped cuts.

Right. No wonder he'd made sounds of pain when she touched his back, let alone dragged material over it. He lifted his head enough to glare at her, and she sat down on the edge of his bed with another grimace. Leon was even more unenjoyable when he was in pain. She might have just reinstated the holocaust that was his attitude.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed guiltily. "Wow! I didn't think I'd chopped you up that much..."

He grunted at her and she grinned despite her guilt.

"Anyway," She reached over to the tray. "Aerith sent me with some medicine for your cuts."

Leon rolled one shoulder, and she knew that at the same time he was rolling his eyes. Aerith had been shocked at the sight of blood on his sleeve when he'd taken his jacked off at breakfast. Not only had this brought out her feared maternal instinct, but she'd also forbade him from leaving the castle before his wounds were healed.

"C'mon." Yuffie prodded, pouring some hand sanitiser into her hands. "At least she's helping you heal so you can get outside faster."

He placed his face back in the circle of his arms. "Whatever."

"_Whatever, whatever_." Yuffie teased, examining his cuts. "You really need to move on to a new catch phrase, Squall. Have you tried _'As if'_?"

"Leon." He mumbled. "Get over it."

"There it is." She smiled, finally pouring the medicing in a bowl of warm water and dipping a cloth in it. "This might hurt a little."

He made a small sound of disbelief. Yuffie brought the cloth down on to the largest scrape, and Leon growled under clenched teeth as she began to scrub at the area. His back gave the slightest shifts of protest every so often, but other than that the Gunblade weilder made no complaint. He did groan fiercely into his arms when she poured Hydrogen Peroxide on his cuts, but other than that he remained completely silent until she began to bandage his back. His eyelashes fluttered closed, unbeknowest to her, and the warm and gentle touch of her hand. The moment was nice, silent and oddly symbolic.

Then she spoke.

"This kind of reminds me of when I was little." She said innocently, working on the cuts on his arms.

He looked at her. "Yuffie."

"No, wait." She smiled. "I remember you were helping my parents with some storage. I thought it would be fun to see how high I could climb on the boxes. But I fell off and hurt my ankle. My parents were angry that I'd climbed and they didn't think that anything was wrong with me. But you checked my ankle and wrapped it for me. Do you remember?"

He shifted his head back into his arms and was silent.

"But it hurt too much when you tried to wrap it, so I was crying and yelling and hitting you. You were so angry with me that you gave me a stern look and lectured me. I can remember being so upset that you were mad that I stopped crying and let you finishing wrapping my ankle."

She smiled, remembering the look in his eyes and how gentle his hands were. He'd always had the gift of non-magical healing. Leon shifted his head to the side a little, resting his chin on his arm and glancing up at her.

"I thought I told you I would burn your doll collection if you didn't stop crying." He said softly.

The words have her a sharp pang of shock. He remembered. He remembered the days before the darkness and before Rinoa's death. He remembered being happy.....

"That was...probably another time." She said haltingly, confused. Happy. Moved.

"I don't remember these things." He said dully "You have a really good memory, Yuffie."

"But why don't you remember?" She asked, a little more desperately than she felt.

"Its not really important to me anymore." He said frankly, turning on his side and away from her.

A slap in the face. Yuffie had endured such physical pain as one. But the low words that left her former comrade's mouth inflicted one of the most emotion pains Yuffie had ever experienced. The friendship they'd had, their happiness. Meant nothing. For all she'd endured to stay by his side, for all that she'd cared. And he didn't. He didn't care. No matter how much she tried to help him, no matter how much she tried to be his friend. He didn't and didn't want to learn.

Oh God. How long had it been since she'd cried?

"Maybe the reason I remember is that I'm not scared of facing my past." She spat harshly, so strongly that Leon turned to face her in slight surprise. "Maybe I'm not enough of a coward to run away. Maybe I'm strong enough to get over my loss instead of around and feeling sorry for myself!"

He should have been angry. He should have been furious. But Yuffie brought out that Squall in him that he was finding harder to subdue. The sight of her tears. The memory of slight sobs and tensor bandage. The want to make everything in the hardship that had been Yuffie's life go away. But he couldn't. Not anymore.

"Get out." He growled for the second time that day. "Now."

"I hate you!" She screamed, tears pouring down her face. "I've tried to love you like I did when I was little. I've tried to help. I've endured years of your abuse and I'm sick of it! You're selfish, you're emotionless and _I hate_ _you!"_

She turned away before she saw the real shock on his face. The softening of his eyes. Yuffie charged out of his room in blindness, tearing down the hall with all the ninja speed she could muster. She reached her room in record time, throwing herself on her bed and sobbing into her pillow. The door opened a few minutes later, a weight settled on the edge of her bed and a gloved hand touched her hair. Yuffie raised red eyes to her best friend, shoulders shaking. Cloud pulled her into his arms, cradling her head to his shoulder and letting her pour her heart out.

"What happened?" A soft, quiet, gentle voice.

"We fought." She sobbed.

"I assumed that." He said, wiping her tears with his sleeve. "I mean what happened?"

"We were talking about the old days." She said, and Cloud gave her such a look of idiot expectancy that she laugh-sobbed. "I should have known he'd get upset. He always does. But he seemed so different today that I thought maybe...."

"I know its against the entirety of your being," Cloud said sternly. "But did it ever occur to you to just...leave Leon alone? He seems happy being hostile."

"But he's not happy." She hiccuped. "He's not. You never knew him before."

Cloud closed his eyes, gloved hands pushing her hair back from her wet face. "You'll get through to him, Yuf. It might mean the destruction of Aerith, I and the Castle. But you'll do it."

"Gee," She smiled wetly. "Thanks for having faith in me."

She hugged him tightly again and he smiled, resting his back against the head board. Aerith came in after awhile, mouth open to speak and closing immediately at the sight of them. Cloud smiled and waved her away. Aerith went with a small face of reluctance, plenty of stored up maternal instinct needing something to do. Eventually, Cloud pulled Yuffie back, raising an eyebrow at her red face. This quirked a smile, and Cloud was assured that he had just as much maternal instict as Aerith, if not more.

"So. How did the fight end?" He said humorously.

"I told him I hated him and stormed out." Yuffie sniffed.

"Excellent." He said seriously, standing up from the bed. "Just what he needs to hear."

Yuffie sighed sadly, eyes dry but face still laced with guilt. Cloud was aware how much Yuffie had grown. Since the day they'd met, when she'd tried to steal his wallet. From the day he'd come back. He smiled, taking her by the hand and pulling her up to a standing position.

"I was like Leon for awhile." He told her seriously. "When I found out Tifa was taken by the Heartless. Aerith helped me through that. If two people can make it through something like that, their bond is stronger in the end. Believe me."

She nodded. "I believe you."

Cloud's mouth twitched and Yuffie glared.

"You'd better not be insinuating that I have feelings for him!"

"Of course not." Cloud was serious again. Soft. Quiet. Gentle. He walked out the door without so much as a foostep sound. But Yuffie felt the signifigance of what this moment had meant. Cloud wasn't the warm, over-emotional type. But when he did sacrifice his image for her, she knew he meant it. Cloud was a good friend, a brother. Someone she would always look up to.

_**If two people can make it through something like that, their bond is stronger in the end. Believe me.**_

_I hope you're right Cloud. I hope you're right._

And somewhere else, two halls and a flight of stairs to be exact, a person was struggling with himself. With his feelings. With his so called values. What he thought he'd had under control. Blistered hands clutched a peice of bandage, exterior cold and emotionless, mind and emotions in complete termoil.

**You're selfish, you're emotionless and I hate you!**

Hard eyes, refusing to show inner termoil, closed.

_I'm sorry, Yuffie. I'm sorry._

* * *

GAH! Another sad chapter. Or atleast, I found it sad. And since my other chapter wasn't forcefully sad, but the majority of you found it to be, I assume you'll find this one to be sad too. But ya never know! In any case, I'm sorry I followed a sad chapter with another one. Therefor, I tried to throw in a little humor. Not sure if you caught it..but just know it was intended to be there.

I've always had a soft spot for Yuffie/Cloud friendships. I don't know why, I just find them to be cute. There isn't really that much evidence of their friendship in the game. But I still have a strange love of it. I don't know. You know how odd I am...

Heh. Please review!


	4. Letting go

"Promising Entirely."

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Although, I do own a rather disturbing thought of Squall as Peter Pan. You will not see Peter Pan Kingdom Hearts story from me. Except from EXTREME special requests. Which I doubt and hope not I will receive. .

Author's Note: This chapter is for October Breeze. Happy Birthday, October! Its almost a week late, I know. I apologize. But I tried to get it as quick as my temperamental muse would let me. We must forgive her as she has a problem with commitment.

Also, for those of you who are reading this and have NOT already joined, please check out LiveJournal Com and check out Squffielove. Its really fun and a great place for all your squffie needs. Its great.

Deplora: Heh. I suppose I could have Squall sink to his knees and say some corny movie line. But I shall resist the temptation. Well...this chappie has sort of half-romantic fluff. Sort of 'on the verge' of romantic..sort of dishonest fluff. You'll see what I mean. I hope my half-romantic dishonest fluff cheers you up. And maybe draws you from the Squinoa. Maybe for a little bit. .

The Contessa: That dance was even better! Would you consider becoming my official choreographer? -

Joy Blue: Thank you so much! You've made me even happier than I am now, as you will see from the bottom of the page. I wouldn't want to get you fired though. This story ain't going anywhere, so you can read it again when you get home. Heh. I love your story, by the way. Update it quickly. Poor Cloud. And semi-poor Squall, as our fanfics seems to be attacking him lately.

The Frogness: Oh dear. You read me too well. But don't tell anyone else your secrets. Or I shall be forced to send my Squall Plushie army after you. I hope I didn't ruin the IC of them in this chapter, since there is a little fluff. I was really happy you said that, since OOCness is my greatest fear. But..if they are IC in this chapter, they have excuses. As you will see, if you havn't already figured it out with your shrewdness.

Taryn: Ah. Don't worry. I love Squally-boy too much to really torture him. I'll just make him suffer a little bit. Really? You thought he'd kill her? That's good, since that's what I was intending. Kind of a demonstration of how messed up Leon just might be? Not that it will stop me from torturing him anyway.

October Breeze: Eh. I hope I never read a Yuffie/Cloud. They're just two of those people, as friends, that I just cannot pair together. Its like Rikku and Tidus from FFX. I can't pair them together, although I love them as best friends. Some people just need to stay friends, or our society is doomed! DOOMED, I tell you! Hehehe! Waffles! Squffles? I think I'm calling this pairing Squffles from now on.

Yuffie Kisaragi2: Gravy-n-a-half! I think it has subliminal messaging. I now have a strange urge to eat something unhealthy with gravy. Preferably with french fries and cheese. You've probably just ruined my NO-POUTINE diet my sister and I have gone on to. As its SO bad for you and I want to stay in shape over the winter. But I'll resist it. -

Sora no Hairo Yuko: Hehe. You can stop twitching. There will be no Yuffie/Cloudness here. Never. Although Cloud will probably be extremely glary on Yuffie's behalf.

Kimou: Oh, they will eventually! Don't you worry. It just might be destructive.

Zarrel's Darkside: passes out from adorableness Hehe. Thank you very much! This chapter has fluff, so I hope you like it as much.

Bella: That's exactly what I thought! Cloud's so older brotherish. I'm excited for Advent Children.

Aio-Butterfly: I know....I felt sad writing that. Especially since I don't believe Cloud deserved to lose his best friend and his not-so-secret love. But I have a soft spot for Tifa, since she's a perfect demonstration of realisticism when it comes to OUR lives. The best friend who doesn't end up with the hero. Woop! Hehe.

Enjoy the Squfflness!

Aerith sighed as she shoveled another burnt egg down the garbage bin. She could feel Cloud wincing each time she threw one out, the economy was still very unstable and eggs were very expensive. Not that they had any problems with munny, the Heartless war had dealt out enough for them to live off it for a lifetime. But many others were poor, refusing to live in the castle as the refugees did, preferring to try and rebuild the lives they had once lived in Hallow Bastion. For them, eggs could be just as or more valuable that munny.

She knew this. But everytime she tried to cook one her thoughts would stray to the heavy and tense air of the castle and she would lose concentration almost immediately. Leon was unusually late. In fact, he was almost always awoke at the same time as she. It was quite possible that he had left the castle earlier, but it was very rare that the Gunblader didn't show up for breakfast. Yuffie was always late of course, in characteristic habit of sleeping in. But here she was, sitting at the table and glaring tiredly at her hands as if she hadn't slept all night.

She jumped slightly as she realized she hadn't been paying attention to the pan, shoveling the egg and flipping it over before it could burn. Across from Yuffie, Cloud was watching her with amusement, finally standing up and taking the spatula from her shaking hands. She was extremely nervous, although he didn't know why. The problems between Yuffie and Leon were so normal that he couldn't understand what she was getting on about. But then again, Yuffie had never left one of those problems in tears before. And, of course, this was Aerith.

"Sit." He said, frowning at the pan as it spat at him. "I'll take care of the rest."

"How is she?" Aerith whispered, quick on the mark. "Did she say anything?"

"No." Cloud muttered, casting a quick glance at the young ninja. "She won't talk."

He hadn't meant this as an suggestion, but it seemed Aerith thought he was encouraging her to take on the task herself. Yuffie was probably extremely agitated in her tiredness. He didn't know if it was a good idea for Aerith to talk to her, but he settled for a roll of his eyes and a tug on her braid instead of trying to dissuade her.

However, Yuffie was saved from Aerith's wrath when the door opened and Leon slouched into the room. Cloud looked quickly over to the young ninja, who had tensed but refused to look up at the Gunblade wielder. Leon was the picture of perfect fashionable lateness, looking at them in mock surprise as if he assumed they were early. Cloud rolled his eyes, cursing as he turned back to the pan and realized he had burnt another egg. Aerith giggled.

Her laughter bounced around the tense and uncomfortable silence. Everyone in the room knew what had gone on, and everyone knew that everyone knew. Yuffie buried her face in her arms over the wood of the table's surface, face burning in humiliation. She wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. She hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Aerith cleared her throat after a long time of silence. "Yuffie, could you pass the salt?"

Yuffie stood up, banging the table with her knees as she stood. Her face was red, but there were no tears as she fled the kitchen, pushing the door open and storming down the hall. Aerith watched as the door swung back and forth, shocked and confused at the outburst. Cloud shook his head with another sigh, reaching across the table and handing Aerith the salt. They both turned to look at Leon. The stoic man hadn't reacted at all, calmly cutting his eggs.

Cloud shook his head a final time, wrapping his arm around Aerith's shoulder and pulling her close. He didn't speak, but Aerith appreciated the gesture. She rested her head on his shoulder, watching with a quiet frustration as Leon continued to eat his eggs as if nothing had happened. She would have to give him a stern talking to. And then run for her life.

Yuffie pushed to doors of her balcony open with angry force, throwing herself on to the ledge with as much drama as she could muster when she was in such a bad mood. She lifted her face to the wind, letting it touch and cool the skin of her cheeks. She stared into the rising run, squinting as to see the hills that lay on the horizon. Her balcony was her solitude; a place where no one would bother her or her rare deep thoughts. Aerith and Cloud's bedroom didn't have a balcony, and Squall's bedroom was on the other side of the castle. Her door was locked, and no one could find her out here. The sight of the mountains and the swirling abyss below gave her a sense of peace as she tried to relax.

She'd woken up this morning and had wanted nothing more to curl into a ball and go back to sleep. What had seemed a big deal the night before seemed silly to her now, and she knew Squall would use it against her at some point. Call her a child. She refused to feel as though the whole incident had been her fault. She'd been trying so hard.

Squall, quite honestly, had been her life project. She hadn't had much when she'd been forced to leave Hollow Bastion. Fortunately she'd been raised under the watchful eye of Aerith, who had ultimately stopped any scars from growing in her emotional psychology. She wondered sometimes if Squall would be different if he had come with them; if maybe he wouldn't be so scarred. But Squall had left in tears without so much as a goodbye, devastated over Rinoa's death, and had joined the King's Army. Nearly six years later he returned to Traverse Town as its protector and Yuffie had seen him again for the first time. Yet he had been so different....

She would never forget the day she ran up to him and he glared at her as if he didn't know who she was. When she had smiled at him and got nothing in return but a blank stare. The first time he had raised his voice to her. The first time she had been truly scared of him. It was nearly a month before Yuffie realized her old friend was gone. And wasn't coming back.

Then the King had issued a request to Aerith and her to join Leon in the quest to find the Chosen One. It seemed like a golden opportunity to Yuffie, who refused to move into the Red Room. She'd learned more about him in that one day where he'd moved into the Hotel then she ever had trying to talk to him before. And eventually, through heated arguments and near death, they had become friends. Partners.

They'd managed to focus on their one common interest. Sora was more important then any of their arguments. They needed to work together to help him through his burden. Sora, she supposed, had brought out the first part of Squall that had been hidden. Nothing hurt Squall more then sadness in people. Sora, Perdita, Pongo and any lost soul brought out a fierce compassion Yuffie hadn't seen in years. It was then she felt a small hope.

But once they moved to Hollow Bastion again everything had changed. Squall had sunk deeper into himself then before. He was not only cold or mean. He was angry. A hidden demon that his old homeland had given birth to. It was then that she realized he wasn't being stubborn or harsh. Leon was hurt deeper than she had ever imagined. And that scared her.

And now she had told him she hated him. Which was definitely not true....

"Yuffie?"

Yuffie was snapped out of her shock so quickly that all the blood rushed to her head. She was suddenly acutely aware of her surroundings and the wind burn on her skin. She hated being absorbed in old memories. But Hollow Bastion seemed to do that to her. She shook her head quickly, leaning over the stone edge of her balcony to peer down. She could see a small figure standing on the moving platforms below and it took her a moment to figure out who it was.

"Tynan!" (1)

The young girl gave her a grin and a small wave. Redish brown hair was tied back in a traditional bun; grey eyes hidden behind thin bangs. Tynan was a page living in the bottom part of the castle, responsible for getting messages out to villages who would accept and home refugees and orphans. As far as Yuffie knew, the girl was an orphan herself, and she was slightly jealous that Tynan has such a free job. Traveling. Helping. She was rarely at the castle and so Yuffie didn't know her that well. But she seemed nice enough, strangely dangerous in a mischievous way she'd only ever seen in Sora. She was a refreshing friend to have, really, since her only companions were Cloud, Aerith and Leon.

"Good to see you, Yuffie!" Tynan shifted her letter bag over her shoulder. "What are you up to?"

"Oh," Yuffie's smile was fake and small. "Just thinking out here. You know me..."

Tynan took this information without so much as a doubt, which came as a shock to Yuffie, who lived with such shrewd people. In fact, Tynan seemed to be losing interest in Yuffie already, eyes wandering around as if she longed to be moving around. Yuffie felt slightly miffed at this, and crossed her arms over her chest until Tynan regained her concentration and raised her eyebrows.

"You look kinda mad." She commented. "Leon giving you trouble?"

Yuffie snorted. "You could say that." She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

"If you say so." Tynan chirped, which was exactly not what Yuffie wanted to hear. Who was she supposed to steam to if no one agreed with her about Squall's absurdity? Tynan wasn't exactly the best listener and Yuffie didn't exactly blame her since she traveled for a living.

"What are you up to?" Yuffie asked instead, resting her chin in her hand. "You're back early."

"I'm staying at the castle for awhile." Tynan said happily. "The season is getting too cold for most refugees to travel with me. So I'm kind of out of a job until it gets a little bit warmer. Wouldn't want our escapees to freeze!"

"That's great!" Yuffie gasped, forgetting her problem for the briefest of moments. "How long are you staying?"

"A month or two." Tynan sighed, turning a bit to look at the mountains. "I'm happy here. Its so relaxing. I won't have to walk around for a bit. It will get me a chance to gain some weight back just for the fun of losing it when my work picks back up."

"Do you have family here?" Yuffie asked innocently, missing Tynan's flickering expression. "Where are you staying?"

"No family." Tynan said quietly. "But my best friend is working here as a squire. I'll be able to spend some time with him and some of the refugees. We're going out to the village tonight."

"Oh," Yuffie said sadly, and her world crashed down again. "That's nice."

Tynan blinked up at her. "Why don't you come with us, Yuffie?"

Yuffie blinked back at her. "Aren't you going...to the pub?"

The innocent grin that overtook the younger girl's face was enough to make Yuffie want to back into her bedroom. Tynan was crazier than her and didn't seem to have any knowledge when it came to moral issues. However, a night in the village could be...interesting.

"We might go at some point." Tynan said. "I just go for the crack." (2)

Yuffie gasped. "Tynan!"

The girl looked shocked at Yuffie's expression, and then broke down in gut wrenching giggles. Yuffie wasn't sure what was so funny, but eventually Tynan straightened with a man twinkle in her eyes.

"You've been away from home too long, Yuffie." Tynan giggled. "Crack means fun. I didn't mean the drug."

"O-oh." Yuffie said, feeling a little stupid. "I knew that. So you don't drink?"

"Not often. I don't like the taste of it." Tynan grinned. "But the refugees drink like you wouldn't believe. It amuses me beyond belief."

Yuffie grimaced. "You should meet Sora."

Tynan made a face. "Huh?"

Yuffie shook her head. Going out with Tynan and her friends would be an amazing break from the castle. Especially since she hadn't been out in a long time. But would Aerith really approve of her going drinking and partying with people who were younger? Come to think of it, would Aerith approve of her going drinking and partying at all? Well, Leon was always saying she should start acting like an adult if she didn't want to be treated like a child. It was time to put that theory to the test. She could make her own decisions.

"Nevermind." Yuffie smiled, waving off Tynan's confused expression. It would be better for Tynan to find out Sora's story on her own. She probably wouldn't be able to sit through the story anyway. "I'll come with you, Tynan! Just give me a few minutes to get ready."

"Great!" Tynan said happily. "You'll have a fun. I promise!"

Yuffie grinned.

Yes. For once, she would.

Leon snorted softly as he pulled his own shirt over his head. He needed to have a shower and get to sleep before more guilt plagued his thoughts. He couldn't escape Yuffie's wounded expression, her tears, her flushed face early that morning. Then she hadn't shown up for dinner and he'd had to endure a whole hour of Aerith's wounded face and Cloud's glare. Aerith could really make him do anything if she altered her face well enough. And Cloud was usually so calm that he was great trouble indeed if he'd received a glare from him.

He'd had something new to think about in the first time in months. He felt different somehow, as if he had woken up that morning a different person. He felt outside his own situation, looking in on how ridiculous the whole thing was. Who was to blame? Why did he feel bad? Why couldn't he just ignore her?

And yet, despite Aerith's pout and Cloud's glare, he refused to blame himself for a situation beyond his control. He hadn't forced Yuffie to bring the subject up. He hadn't really said anything to make Yuffie cry. As far as he was concerned, Yuffie had brought it on herself.....

But that didn't make the guilt any easier. Yuffie had always fought so hard to be around him, to try and help him and be his friend. At times it was the last thing Leon ever wanted. But on the other hand, he often felt the silences at night without Yuffie snoring beside him. She was his companion, his partner, no matter how much he tried to deny it. And she said she hated him..

Why did that hurt him so much?

The door gave a loud rap and Leon jumped with a loud curse. He bent to scoop his gunblade on the floor, crossing his room as slowly as he could possible managed. If Cloud was here looking for a fight, he wouldn't back down. However, he really had no want to see the blond man. He wanted to get to sleep so he could stop thinking about her big, sad and blue eyes...

He squinted at the young figure who was standing at his door. It took him a moment to identify it as a person, as it had an odd shape slumped over its shoulder. But messy redish brown hair was unmistakable in the small population of the castle, and Leon loosened his hold on his Gunblade.

"Tynan?" He said in confusion, opening his door just a little more.

"Hiya, Leon!" The girl said in fake cheeriness, scratching the back of her head in nervousness.

"Can I help you?" He said cooly, narrowing his eyes at her expression. She stuttered for a short moment before something launched itself at his chest, smelling odd and knocking the wind out of his chest. Hair tickled his nose until he realized this thing was a person. A short, strong, black haired person to be exact. He pushed away from it, tilting his head down to stare at its face in shock.

"Yuffie." He growled, holding her out at arms length and peering suspiciously into her face. Yuffie giggled and swayed in his hold, lips gaining and dropping a smile as she gave him a grand wave. That odd smell hit his nose again, and her behavior concluded his suspicions as he recognized what the smell was.

Alcohol.

"She kept challenging people to duels on the street." Tynan said quietly as Leon turned to glare at her. "I didn't know she would drink so much. Actually, I didn't think she'd drink at all."

"How much did she drink?" Leon growled as Yuffie hiccuped.

"Four pints atleast." Tynan seemed to be finding a grin. "I guess she was trying to keep up with the regulars."

"Squally?" Yuffie drew the attention to herself as she reached up and touched a piece of his hair. "Your hair is real soft." (3)

Leon shut his eyes at the feeling. No one had touched his hair like that in a long time. Not since...He had to fight to keep from pushing her away. He didn't need these feelings now.

Tynan held up her hands. "Better you than me."

Leon shook his head, taking Yuffie by the shoulders and pushing her into the room. She went without a fuss, looking wildly around and exclaiming about how bright the room looked at night. Tynan shook her head with a small smile and turned to leave, pausing only to bow her head apologetically.

"She seemed really down earlier. That's why I invited her out." Tynan told him. "I didn't mean for it to go this far. I'm really sorry."

"Get to bed." He sighed, moving to shut the door. "It isn't your fault."

Its mine.

He turned and was suddenly face to face with a very pale looking Yuffie. Her eyes were wide with panicked fear, her nose right next to his as she clutched tightly at his back. Leon tensed immediately, arms slack as his side. He was shirtless and tired; Yuffie was drunk and holding him like the world depended on it. Strangely enough, he felt extremely worried. Yuffie knew better than to get this drunk. Had he really driven her this far? The guilt he'd felt only increased and it suddenly didn't matter why he cared. The least he could do was give They'd been friends once after all.

Slowly, he lifted his arms, unsure what to do with them after such a long time. He settled for resting them on her waist, feeling how warm they were despite the cold weather. Yuffie tucked herself furthur into his embrace, resting her chin over the side of his shoulder.

Memories assulted him from all sides. Holding Yuffie and protecting her from the young boys who senselessly chased her through the streets of the villages. Holding Yuffie as she sobbed from the memory of a horrible nightmare. Dashing through a violent storm with Yuffie tucked safely in the folds of his coat. Yuffie holding him when she had found him crying one day. Yuffie holding him as they watched Hollow Bastion's destruction. Yuffie holding him when she'd promised him something he had tried to forget. Unconciously, he tightened his hold, old feelings brought from these memories temporarily controlling his actions.

"Squall...." She whispered, pulling her head back only a little.

She looked up at him with white skin, tinged a little with green. It took him a moment to realize exactly what she was about to do. She gagged over his shoulder (4) and he quickly dashed to the bathroom. He grimaced as Yuffie hurled wildly into the toilet, bending down to pull her hair back from her face. He couldn't bring himself to chastise himself for any weakness. Couldn't be angry at Yuffie at all. For the moment, Yuffie was a child again. And he was Squall again. He couldn't shake that feeling off.

"Better?" He leaned over her to flush the toilet.

"A little." Yuffie murmured, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "But I threw up a boot! What did I eat for dinner?"

"Ethyl." (5) Leon said dryly, helping Yuffie up and leading her back into the bedroom. She sunk down on to the bed, wavering slightly as she tried to regain her senses. Then she opened her eyes extremely wide at him, as if inquiring why he was standing when she was sitting. He sighed, sitting carefully down on the bed beside her.

"Sounds organic!" Yuffie giggled. "I never really liked organic food!"

"Okay." Leon muttered, getting up and crossing the room to the small dresser in the corner. He pulled out the smallest clothing he owned, old training clothes from his days in the army. He handed them to Yuffie, who took them without question and began to mutter away about how celery took more energy to eat than it gave back.

"Yuffie." He interrupted, and she blinked up at him. "Put those clothes on, okay?"

"I can do that!" Yuffie jumped up excitedly, only to gasp and fall flat on her back. Leon sighed and shook his head, taking the clothes from her weak grasp and helping her to stand steadily.

"Turn around." He instructed, which she did with some difficulty. "Take off your shirt."

Yuffie gasped. "Oh, no! I can't do that! You're a man!"

"How very astute of you." He muttered, rolling his eyes. "I've seen you without a shirt before, Yuffie. I won't look. I promise."

"Double promise?" Yuffie demanded, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

"Yes." Leon sighed, waiting impatiently as she struggled to get her shirt over her head. He was then assaulted with the sight of the scarred skin of her back. He had seen her scars before. He felt like a failure each time he saw them, that inner Squall that had always itched to protect her. But he'd never had to see them this close up. It made that feeling all the more worse.

"Yuffie." He murmured, touching the long scar that traced her spine. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Yuffie chewed her nails and looked back at him.

"For.." He paused, not quite sure what he was sorry for. "Everything."

"Well, you can't be sorry for everything!" Yuffie turned around, arm crossed in front of her chest. "Otherwise you'd do everything wrong. Even I'm not perfect!"

Shocked and slightly amused at this piece of wisdom, he pulled the new shirt over the top of her head, readjusting it until it fell almost to her knees. He opted to remain silent for the rest of the process, unsure why he felt so odd and was saying things like that. Yuffie yawned loudly once he'd finished pulling her sweatpants on, stretching high above her head and stumbling over to his bed. There she buried herself into the pillows, keeping her arm high in the air as she began to fall asleep. Leon shook his head, taking her arm and tucking it under the blanket. She made a loud noise of protest, throwing that arm back into the air. He gave up; he was too used to her odd sleeping habits.

"Yuffie?" He said stiffly, moving towards the door. "I'm leaving now, okay?"

"What?" She sat up quickly. "Where are ya goin'?"

"To another bedroom." He shrugged. "I don't mind."

"No, no!" She rolled her eyes. "There's lots of room in this bed! We used to sleep in the same bed, remember?"

"Oh. Did we really?" He asked quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you don't remember, Squall."

"Leon." He told her.

She shrugged as if that had absolutely no importance to her. That hadn't changed during her alcoholic tendencies, although it could have been the one good thing out of this entire situation. She was patting the bed with her hand, indicating him to get in to the bed. Leon had no idea why he felt so uncomfortable with the situation. He'd slept in the same bed as her for nearly three years. Why did it seem so weird now?

Still, she would probably insist on making a fuss if he didn't. He slipped under the covers slowly, and Yuffie have a contented sigh as she settled back into the pillows. She was asleep in a matter of moments, her arm thrown into the air and her breathing loud. He stared at the ceiling until she shifted. When he looked over, the t-shirt he had given her was pulled down to show him that scar once again. And he suddenly had something new to look at.

Squall was emerging from him faster than he could control. He didn't know if it was because of their fight. If it was Cloud's glares or Aerith's sad face. He didn't know if it was the way she had hugged him earlier. But he suddenly felt guilty, sad, lonely and hurt. Wonder, amusement and affection. Anger, annoyance, and hate. It was suddenly all jumbled together, and he couldn't control his emotions or what he said, nor could he tell what was up and what was down.

Hollow Bastion had taken down a large junk of the cold ice he had protected his heart with for so long. Yuffie, slowly and with the smallest weapon imaginable, was chipping away at the other half. He felt stranded in a place he had always called home, dealing with things he hadn't in years. People like Tynan had been forced to grow up too fast. But he hadn't had the chance to grow up at all. And now it was catching up with him.

The only way to ease the pain in his chest now was to do what his arms wanted to. He reached out his arm and draped it over Yuffie's side, pulling her closer and concealing that scar from him. Yuffie muttered, turning over and pressing her cold nose to his neck. Sighing, he pressed his own nose to her hair, willing to ignore that disgusting scent of alcohol to allow him this moment.

His thoughts in this one night had made more sense that they had since the day he learned that Rinoa had been killed. Everything was suddenly clear, he didn't feel angry. Only numb from his epiphany. He knew it wouldn't last. He knew this was once of those things that made sense when you were tired and not thinking straight. He would probably wake up with a worse hangover than Yuffie would from all this thinking. But for now, he enjoyed the sense of peace. Enjoyed the feeling of protect her. Enjoyed, oddly enough, having her so close.

"Yuffie." He whispered. "I am sorry for everything."

Tommorow he would wake up and realize how stupid and overemotional he was being. That Yuffie was drunk and wouldn't remember a time when she didn't hate him so much. That everything he had thought was foolish and made no sense whatsever. Yuffie brushed her nose against his neck, as if an acceptance to his apology. For now, that was good enough for him.

He fell asleep that night without a frown. He wasn't smiling, but he was blissfully even in his emotions. He drifted off slowly and without force, dreaming one of those dreams you knew was good but couldn't remember when you woke up. He felt human, alive. It didn't matter if he would wake up in anger and with regrets. For now, he was content. The future just didn't matter any more.

And his gunblade lay forgotten on the floor, way out of hand's reach, for the first time in eight years.

Yar!

1) Yes, Tynan has made another appearance! But she won't be a big thing in this story. She might show up again at the end. Maybe if Sir Riku pays a little visit? -. She isn't from Hollow Bastion in Sea Salts to Heal. But I needed a character to take Yuffie out to get drunk. My original character was extremely dislikable and I don't think Yuffie would trust her. So, I just took Tynan out of SSTH and popped her in here. This, you could say, is what Tynan would have been like if she hadn't been all traumatized in SSTH. What she was like before maybe? Hehe. She's really OOC in this one. But she's not really supposed to be the same person as in SSTH.

2) Crack is a word used for fun in Ireland. Its just a slang word, but it seemed to be something the new Tynan would say. I love the expression myself, especially when I say it here in Canada and people give me horrified looks. Then I must explain myself.

3) This one was inspired by that scene in FF8. When Squall and Rinoa are dancing and she touches his hair? I can see Squall being thrown off by the gesture coming from Yuffie.

4)That happened to me once. My friend suddenly collapsed on me and I thought that he had passed out. But then he started to giggle, then gag. And since we were inside, I got him outside before he threw up all over the floor. But it turned out he was only trying to communicate that he had to go to the bathroom. I love my drunk friends.

5) That's the scientific term for the alcohol that you drink. In case you didn't know.

I'm extremely happy right now. Mostly because I finished this chapter. Also, I got the second highest score in Maths (which is a BIG deal for me since I struggle in maths). ALSO, my Great Aunt June is out of the hospital now. She had pneumonia and we were all pretty scared. ALSO I got a letter from my Great Uncle Graeme. His letters are always something to look foward to, especially when he was so worried about Aunt June. But, all seems well for now, and I am so happy as the world is a spectacular place!

Eh. My television is being assaulted by the vote. It had a big effect on us Canadians even if we're a different country and I've been following it. Needless to say, I don't know how to react. But I'll save that for my livejournal, since this isn't the place to discuss politics.

Er..ah..I probably should have warned you all to just skip that paragraph. Anyway. I hoped you liked this chapter! Its been a long time in the making. Please Review!

Off to work on Seal Salts to Heal!

-


	5. What do you want?

"Promising Entirely"

Disclaimer: I am not making any money from this, only pure enjoyment in torturing our favorite victims. I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own any of the Final Fantasy series, or anything mentioned about them in this story. I thank you.

A/N: Ah, yes. Here it is. I said New Years, I lied. I said the one-shot would come first. I lied. My muse was PE happy aujourd'hui. Yells at the loud, arguing golf players on television SHUT UP! Woaah..the angry golf player said that when I typed it. Wow. ANYWAY, that is all I have to say.

Note: In case any of you didn't already join or missed my first note about this, there is a really cool community on LiveJournal (. com) about Squffie. Squffielove is its name. Its great, trust me. Please join it!

Shout out:

**October Breeze**_: giggles until tears run down the face_ Canadian Amish Conspiracy! _giggles again_ That's halarious! Well...if the Canadian Amish were responsible for the huge power outage, I'm sure they would have tried testing it on all of Canada before they tried taking power from the States. We do have Amish, but they don't go as Canadian Amish since Amish is a religon and its everywhere. But you can give that boy in your class a hug from me and tell him its from a real Canadian Amish and that he'd better watch his outlets. (Although I'm not Amish) _giggles one last time and clutches stomach_ Thank you for reviewing! You put a gigantic smile on my face.

**The Contessa:** Of course I don't hate Americans! No way! I don't want you to think all Canadians hate Americans. Its definately not true. Its just like disliking any other country. It'll happen everywhere I'm afraid. But not little ol' me, oh no! I'm just glad you don't hate Canadians. (puppy eyes aren't I just so adorable?) Heheh...no dance in this one I'm afraid, but soon!

**Deplora:** _checks the date_ Well, I'm one day off it being Wednesday. But its Christmas break anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Oh yes, there is also a smidgen of fluff in this chapter as well. Hopefully, a smidgen will soon turn into a tad, a tad into a galon and a galon into a whole fluffy chapter. But we shall have to see.

**Annjirika:** _giggles _Drunk Yuffie. It is beautiful, eh? I think Drunk Squall is even more beautiful! I might have to look into that. Sneaky eyes

**Joy Blue**: Thank you for the good wishes . Although I'm not completely happy with yooooouuu, since you've been holding me back on some updates. Hehehe. Don't worry. I love yer anyway.

**Aio-Butterfly**: You'll have to read to find out! Although this chapter isn't tooo something-full. But I hope you enjoy it anyway, ya? (_Giggles_ Whenever I say ya, it makes me think of Wakka)

**Yukari**: Thank you! dances I have a new reader! Well, maybe not a new reader, but a new reviewer. Ah. George Bush. I don't have tooo much of an opinion since its not my country, but I can understand your anger. And that boy in your class IS stupid. You should throw stuff at him next time you see him.

**BellaStarz:** You feeeel it, eh? Good! - That's what I had hoped for. Yep. I'm really worried about it right now. Not just the States, but our entire planet. I sometimes wish that some alien invader would come and teach us a lesson about World Unity or something. Heh. Geeky, I know, but true. Wars are so stupid and pointless now a days.

**Kimou**: - Great! Drunken Yuffie is funny. But I think Drunken Squall is even better. Sadly though, Drunken Squall didn't fit well into my story. But maybe later...hehe. YES! We must write many fics about Squffie drunkeness.

**Yuffie Kisaragi2**: Keh-heh! Gravy-n-a-half is BOMBISH. And I have never used the word bombish before, so there you go. Is bombish even a word? I think not. Heh. We shall have to convert your boyfriend into gravy-n-a-half ness.

**Mia the Boy Slayer**:_ giggles_ I know! I'm sorry! Please Forgive ME! Here is your update! _runs_

And a very big smile and an armful of plushies for my new friends: **fairy and Marilda24.**

Happy Holidays to EVERYONE!

_

* * *

Squall Leonhart crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, watching the lump on his bed groan in her sleep. He couldn't help but be amused at her obvious post drunken pain, and he wondered briefly if these sorts of thoughts could be considered sadistic. In the end, he decided that he didn't care all that much, smirking as Yuffie Kisaragi slowly regained consciousness to what would be her very first hang over. He was determined to teach her a lesson out of this, and what better teacher than a little bit of pain?_

He couldn't really explain what had put him in such a good and slightly sadistic mood. Perhaps it was all of the real sleep he had gotten, or maybe he finally had a chance to pay Yuffie back for all the trouble she had caused him. In any case, it felt good for his thoughts to be so calm; it had been a long time since he'd been able to relish the fact that the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day...or was it perhaps the fact that the sun was shining directly into Yuffie's eyes?

He was distracted byYuffie's yelp, which was quite loud as she sat up, regretting this immediately as blood rushed to her head and caused that dull pain to intensify. The light shining from the window caused her eyes to water greatly, and she was quick to cower into the many pillows that were littered beneath her. Squall chuckled deeply, crossing the room and sitting down at the edge of the mattress and resisting the urge to poke the lump she caused in the blankets.

"I hurt!" She moaned, keeping his blanket firmly placed over her face. "Squall, why do I hurt?!"

"Your had a minor encounter with drunken foolishness." He replied smartly, reaching over to pull the blanket from her face. Yuffie squinted her eyes shut as the sun flashed brightly in them, and Squall made quick work of taking her hand, pressing two small pills into her palm.

He wanted desperately to reach out and fix her hair away from her eyes, a gesture of affection that felt completely natural to him. Yuffie looked up suddenly, eyes blinking in a confused manner as she watched his hand move closer to her face. He caught this thought before it managed to make its way to his hand, and he stared at Yuffie in shock. What had he just been thinking?

She looked at the pills dully and he sighed. "Take them. They'll help with the headache."

She did as she was told, and it was once her head had cleared that she noticed the odd look on Squall's face. His words so far had been nothing but kind, something quite odd considering Leon was one tough cookie and was never kind. But now he seemed to be avoiding her gaze, eyes sad as he stared grudgingly at his hands. Kind and sad? Not cold and angry?

"Squall?" She said curiously, sitting up a bit more as much as her sore limbs would allow. "What is it?"

Squall shook his head, getting up quickly from the bed and crossing the room. Yuffie watched him in bewilderment, confused to see the usual shut-off look on his face instead of the thoughtful sadness she had seen only moments before. He turned his head to the side a little to see her watching him, and his intense eyes met hers for a split second before he pushed open the door.

"I'd wash in the spring." He muttered indifferently. "It will make you feel better than a regular shower."

Yuffie remained still for a few moments after she had left, bewildered with the confusion she had woken up to. She wanted nothing more than to lie in bed and wallow in her pain. But the sun was getting too annoying shining in her face.Yuffie got up, unaware of the termoil going throughLeon at the time.

On the other side of the door, Leon sagged against it, sinking his hands deep into his hair and pulling it for good measure. He listened as Yuffie shuffled around his room, and he knew he didn't have much time before she emerged. He couldn't face her again, not when his thoughts were in such franticness.

It had been his complete plan to wake up completely normal. To see Yuffie's escapade as another nuisance and use it as an excuse to furthur rid himself of her. It had _not_ been his intention to wake up with Yuffie curled perfectly into his chest, causing him to soften and relish the ticklish warmth that spread through him. It had not been his intention to be happy that morning, to completely forget every wall he had built since his arrival in Hollow Bastion. But oh-so-perfectly was Yuffie curled that morning, and oh-how-brightly the sun did shine. Someone, somewhere was not too happy with him.

His fist clenched, his eyes closing as an imaginary hand reached out to touch his hair. The hand was long and elegant, with perfect fingernails. Then the hand changed; became small and soft, with choppy fingernails which had been bitten.

_Squally? Your hair is real soft._

He growled. The fact that he wasn't a solitary person by nature had always made his self-appointed isolation that much harder to bear. Yuffie said she was trying to help him but....it didn't seem that attempting to take down his walls was making him feel much better. In fact, he felt worse. He didn't need this right now. Why was it Yuffie that made him unconventionally wish that he could break his own rules? She was just Yuffie.

No. Yuffie had always been special. His little ninja; the only person he had ever thought of dying for in times of peace. His little ninja who idolized him and told him she would grow up to be just like him. His little ninja who loved him unconditionally. And even now, when he was so changed, a small part of him still connected with his little ninja. Only she wasn't little anymore. She was grown, intelligent and manipulative. But that unconditional love had never left her and that was what was causing him so many troubles.

That promise....he'd never even begun to take it seriously. It had been funny and cute that Yuffie had made such a devotional sacrifice and he hadn't thought much of it. Believing she would forget was a rather large mistake on his part. Yuffie never forgot. Especially her promises. Messy, ridiculous and annoying. But dependable. It was her personal mantra. She took everything just one notch too seriously, despite her joyous nature. She wouldn't let him be alone. Even if that was exactly what he wanted.

He chukled weakly into his hands as he pushed off the wall beside his bedroom door. He knew that Yuffie still remembered her promise. He also knew that she thought he had forgotten about it. In any other situation, it would have been funny to watch Yuffie try to be sneaky in her attempt to work her way into his life. But he _wasn't_ a solitary person, and that small part of him that reached out to her love also wanted to reach out to her. It wasn't becoming harder and harder to deny himself her goodwill. His silly little ninja...

His steps quickened as he hurried down the hall; needing fresh air as though he couldn't breathe at all. A slow feeling of dread was trickling down his spine and his heart began to beat a little faster. Fresh air. That was all he needed. He needed to think. To clear his head.

To clear his head of her...

Yuffie sighed blissfully as the cool water touched her yucky skin. Squall had been right; the fresh water of the spring felt amazing on her sore body, if not a little cold. The medication she had taken had cured her from the throbbing in her head; but she was still very groggy and the spring water combined with the cold air was enough to snap her body into wakefulness.

She sighed, tipping her head back and soaked her scalp. She felt oddly uncomfortable with herself. Her head was foggy and yet full of light; something she could only identify with when someone had spiked her coffee at Aerith's birthday bash a few years ago. Her head had cleared enough to realize that it wasn't very likely that Squall had slept with her while she was drunk....

But that still didn't explain why she had woken up in his bed with sore armpits and a headache strong enough to kill two Leon's _and_ a Cid. She remembered Tynan and her friends...she remembered taking a drink offered to her by a handsome stranger when her company had gone off to dance...

"Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" She muttered incessantly, realizing her mistake almost immediately and wondering how she could have _been_ so stupid. She supposed she had no mistakes to learn from, as the spiked coffee had most definitely belonged to Sora and it hadn't made much sense at the time not to trust him. But taking a mysterious drink from someone she didn't know? That was breaking the first and most important of _Aerith's Party Rules!_

She sighed, dunking her head and squeezing her eyes shut in embarassement. Squall probably thought horribly of her now. She must have completely thrown her self at him if he had let her sleep in his bed. He wouldn't have willingly taken care of her otherwise.

And yet, Squall had not seemed to be scornful when she had woken up. If anything else, he seemed amused by her behavior. Which was more than a little odd considering it usually took much less for him to act scornful towards her. Had she said or done something that would make him act so oddly? What if she had said something so horrible that she had thrown his mental stability completely off balance?

'_Feh_.' She thought, as she climbed up the side of the bank and picked up her towel. '_As if Leon_ has_ any mental stability_.'

She just had to talk to him. That was it. This embarssing event seemed sort of a climax in the sort-of fight they'd been having, a surefire sign that something had to be done about their relationship. She would have to work twice as hard to make him see clearly, to love life and maybe start to love her....or she would have to break herself off completely. The second of the options caused her heart to twinge painfully. But she wanted him to be happy, right? That was her goal, wasn't it? And if leaving him alone made him happy...she would sacrifice her own heart in order to satisfy his.

'_Stupid Cloud and his stupid fake wisdom_.' She thought, as she shivered from the cold air and quickly pulled on her shirt. '_Time to put it to the test, I guess_.'

"Yeah!" She yelled into the air, in the general direction of the castle. "Easier to say when you've had love handed to you like kentucky fried chicken on a platter, Cloud!"

Satisfied with the knowledge that her best friend had probably heard her message in essence if not in voice, she swung her scarf around her shoulder and took off towards the path that would lead her to the castle. The sun was just beginning to rise into the sky, and she took a deep breath as she enjoyed the day around her. The light breeze, the frost beginning to melt into dew on the grass, the birds. She was just pondering her delight on the climatic changes of the once frozen Hollow Bastion when brown hair and leather disrupted her vision of nature.

Squall Leonhart sat not ten meters away from her, Gunblade thrown carelessly on to the ground and arms supporting his back as he stared out at the sea. She stared at him in shock, her expression softening and her heart melting as she came to a startling realization. How long had Squall been coming out here, too embarassed and defensive to admit he didn't train each day? No wonder he had been so rusty when they had sparred. She paused to admire the view, of him and the ocean, then both of them put together before she turned on the path and made her way towards him.

"Squall?" She said softly, so not to startle him.

He whirled around, eyes wide as they settled on her. He'd clearly forgotten that the spring rested only a short distance from 'his spot'. It was a bit stupid and unusually witless for him to assume that no one would ever run into him here. His spot was right beside the path, after all.

"Y-Yuffie." He growled, startled, despite her best efforts. "What are you doing here?"

"I was at the spring, like you said." She moved foward, sitting on the grass, not too close. "I took the path back to the castle instead of hopping on the platforms. My knees hurt."

"You shouldn't be here." He muttered in response, turning away. "Its cold."

"I'll live." She said, pulling her scarf tighter in emphasis. "Squall. "

"Leon." He snapped, his shoulders tense.

"Leon." She sighed. "Is this where you've been going every day? Instead of training, like you tell us? You've been sitting here and contemplating the meaning of life?"

He didn't say anything, just continued to stare out at the ocean with an unreadable expression on his face. He clearly didn't want to be found out. But was he upset that she, specifically, was here? Had his odd mood from this morning completely vanished?

"It is, isn't it?" She smiled. "No wonder you're in a bad mood all the time, with all this thinking!"

He immediately moved to leave, reaching out to grab his weapon. Yuffie grabbed hold of his arm, stroking the leather encouragingly. He tilted his head to look at her, and that odd look from this morning was in his eyes once again. She smiled gently.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Please stay."

He pulled away slowly. "Whatever."

"Look. I didn't come here to bother you." He snorted, and she smiled a little. "I just came to talk."

"Talk." He said dully. "Is all you ever do, Yuffie."

"I know. But this time its serious."

He was silent again, and she took this as a sign that he was giving her the okay. She remained silent as well for a moment, staring out at the water and gathering her thoughts. Her stomach churned in nervousness. She wasn't comfortable being serious!

"I know I've been bothering you a lot lately. And I'm sorry." She began hesitantly. "It only puts you in a worse mood when I'm annoying. But I'm so used to you just ignoring me, y'know? It only recently started to peeve you so much when I was around."

She sounded a little sad as she said this, and he felt a twinge of guilt. However, Yuffie went on in a much stronger voice, her additude becoming more and more upbeat as she spoke.

"D-Do you think you'll ever manage to forgive me?" She said in mock meekness, looking at him with big eyes that didn't fool him for a second.

"Yeah, okay." He muttered, brushing her off.

She grinned and settled back into the grass, ignoring the obvious signs that he wanted her to go away. They watched the sea together for a long while in silence. Squall fighting between acceptance and annoyance that she had joined him. Yuffie gathering the courage to ask him about her latest escapade. In the end, when the sky had risen high enough in the sky for Yuffie's stomach to realize it wanted breakfast, they both came to a conclusion. Squall deciding he was complaisant with her presence, Yuffie knowing that this wasn't the time to raise the subject.

She tilted her head to watch him instead, watching him glare intensely out at the sea, as if it had done him wrong. He was always glaring, always angry. He could hunt with that glare; any animal would surely drop dead from the lethalness of such a look. She would have giggled at the thought; but his broken emotional well-being had been bothering her for so long that the topic didn't seem all that funny.

"You're so angry." She whispered, unconciously reaching her hand out to touch his face.

He jerked away from her hand. "What?"

"You." She sat up. "You're angry. You're always glaring, even when you're not in a particularly bad mood. I mean, your eyes are stuck like that! Is it because you glare so much that you can't stop? Or are you really that mad all the time?"

"Yuffie." He sighed in annoyance, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. "What do you want?"

She was silent again, and that feeling of dread he'd just gotten rid of came back full force. It was such an open ended question, one that someone like Yuffie would ponder with relish. He contemplated jumping up to leave, but knew that running away was no longer the answer. He truly was curious. What did she want? Why wouldn't she just leave him alone? Yuffie opened her mouth to answer.

_I want to talk to you_

_I want you to ditch the Gunblade_

_I want you to find Rinoa_

_I want to see you smile_

_I want to see you laugh._

_I...I want the real you back._

"I want you to be happy." She said aloud, searching his face for any sort of reaction. He didn't react for several moments, and she was about to repeat herself when he did. A small nod of acceptance. That was it. No anger, no rolling of the eyes, no look. Just a small nod.

She smiled. A small nod was all she needed. She stretched her arms over her head luxuriously, free of pain and embarrassment from the night before. She didn't need to know what happened. She was completely comfortable with herself once again. Talking always did the trick. Why, it was why she loved to do it so much, after all. She glanced at him one more time before she stood, stepping over his Gunblade and making her way back to the path. A sudden, random thought occured and she paused, looking back at the object of her stubborn affections.

"Squall?"

He turned his head to look at her, still glaring, but without a reprimand. Or a demand to call him Leon. She smiled. Maybe, just maybe, he cared about her a little after all.

"I don't hate you." She said simply, turning back and making her way to the path again.

If she had looked a second longer, she would have witnessed the first softening of his eye muscles that had occured in years. (1) It was a look of wonderment, of confusion and of intuition. It changed his face completely. But Yuffie missed it, skipping up the path and whistling in high spirits. When she did turn around, a few moments too late, he had already turned his back. When she did turn around, he was already glaring at the sea. She shook her head, chuckling slightly, and whistled a little bit louder just for him as she continued her way back to the castle.

Squall Leonhart shook his head, lying down into the grass and glaring at the sky instead.

_I want you to be happy_.

He sighed, shaking off that feeling of dread. It wasn't replaced with the usual dull feeling, nor was it replaced with the bubbling amusement he had felt earlier that morning. He was filled with uncertainty and doubt, a feeling he had long forgotten since becoming a soldier. He didn't like it at all. If falling for Yuffie Kisaragi was what he was doing, he wasn't sure he liked it, if these were the feelings it produced. He shook those thoughts from his head as well. Falling for Yuffie? Yeah, right. The thought of it was almost funny. He wouldn't marry her, even if he was alone. You needed to love someone to marry them, and he most certainly didn't love Yuffie. If her tactic for chipping away at his emotional barriers was warming his heart, then it wasn't going to work!

'_I want you to be happy_.' He thought, snorting.

It wasn't like he expected anything else.

This was his sillylittle ninja, after all.

* * *

Woo-yeah! _Does a little victory dance_ Another chapter has been done. Woooh!

Sorry for the cheesy finishing line there, but I couldn't help it. I'm never satisfied with my chapter unless the ending line is cheesy or a cliffhanger. So you shall have to bear with me.

(1) _giggles_ 'softening of his eye muscles' How unartistic, unpoetic, unromantic is that phrase? I giggled as soon as I typed it and decided I had to keep it, just for the fun of it.

That is all, my friends. Please Review!


	6. Something changed

"Promising Entirely."

Disclaimer: If you havn't figured out I don't own ANYTHING yet...well..._dumps a bucket of cold water on you._

A/N: Woot! Its finally here! FINALLY...this chapter took me so long it was like...agony to punch out every word, I tell yer.

Shout outs:

**Yuffie Kisaragi2**: Hey, you know what's really good? Cinnamon and gravy. Yes, I know it sounds gross but...I had a poutine and my friend had a Beavertail (cinnamon pastry) and I was dared to eat it together and...it was good. Cheers to boys being stupid! Woot!

**October Breeze**: Hehehe! His face is MELTING. Like something in the Mummy or something. Wow...I havn't seen that movie in ages. Haven't I updated this since Christmas? Yikes...oh well, I used chrismahanukwanzakuh ALL THE TIME after that and everyone gave me weird looks. Heh.

**Deplora**: Heh! So much for my one shot...actually, I should go write that! _runs off_ Well, here's the update as promised, and another before I work on SSTH. Would you forgive me if I work on Foolish Games and spit that out before I update this? Hah. Probably not. Foolish Games isn't even close to being done. Yes! Squffie Sensors! Very acurate!

**Kimou:** Any time! You need a day brightening, you just ask!

**Yukari:** Love your name by the way. Eh, well...I'm sure it's a bit more complicated than all that but..I'm worried. We have really weak leadership in the world these days.

**Ann**: YOU hate ME? _is shocked_ You could fit a MILLION of these into your stories and it still wouldn't add up. I might be biased because I adore ya but...REALLY. Yikes, I should go and work on that Yuriku eh? ITS COMING, I PROMISE! Hopefully sometime before your birthday eh? Seven months. Seven months...you're still writing a Tyku for MY birthday right? I hope soooo!

**The Contessa:** Yo! I tried to fit a dance into this one...but I couldn't really find a place. Next time, hopefully!

**Iris**: HAHA! Dude, that is SUCH a good idea! Instead, you should have a Ring Pop as your ring. I mean, it would go away fast 'cause its edible but it's a TASTY ring, so I think its well worth it. Oh, I would adore being an author but...I've never written any of my own characters/plot/ideas ect, you know? I'll have to work on that. Now to more pressing matters, what you would like for your wedding gift? Does this make me your mother in law?

**Bronzetoast**: Sorry it took so long!

**Sugacoated-Cherries**: Oh yes, VERY corny. That's why I kept it in there, for my own amusement. Heh. That's no threat! Squall could NEVER bore me! I could think of a few ways to keep myself entertained with him around!

**Now, on with the show! This chapter took me forever, and it was almost painful to write, but I think it just might be my favorite so far. For now, atleast.**

* * *

It was one of those mornings. A morning where you woke up with your body in the perfect comfort; where you could see that the sky was perfectly blue and cloudless. When you could bounce out of bed without so much as a second thought about sleeping in. Yuffie Kisaragi grinned as she opened her eyes, stretching her arms high above her head and looking through the open window with relish. It was a beautiful morning.

She quickly dawned her clothing, deciding it was too much of a nice day to stay in her pyjamas. Today was a day for going outside and getting things done. The halls were practically humming with contentment as she strolled down them towards the kitchen. The carpet was warm against her bare feet and the light that peeked through the curtains was sprinkled with floating dust. It was the perfect calm and for the first time in awhile Yuffie felt completely relaxed. She had nothing to worry or feel nervous about; she had nothing to anticipate. Yesterday, when she had sat with Squall in the grass the slate had been wiped clean.

"Yuffie?"

She was surprised to see Cloud standing by the window she had just passed. She hadn't even noticed him standing there. She greeted him with a smile and a tiny wave, her heart jumping as she caught sight of the way he was standing. Arms crossed, eyes unwavering and leaning against the wall. Whenever he stood like that, it usually meant large amounts of trouble for her. She knew he was going to demand an explanation as to her whereabouts the night before last. He never let her get away with _anything_. She stood still for a short moment, in low hopes that all he wanted was a simple greeting. Then he grinned, bearing all his teeth, and she slouched over to him with a heavy pout. So much for her perfect day.

(Qwerty)

The castle was quiet. Too quiet. Aerith padded down the hall from her bedroom quite suspiciously and almost suspected someone to pop out at her. Cloud had convinced her to sleep in the morning, something she rarely had the chance to do. She knew something was up when he didn't sleep in as well; Cloud hardly ever got up without some persuasive work on her part. Her bedroom clock had told her that it was nearly ten o'clock, which was when the group usually assembled for breakfast. And breakfast was always accompanied by shouts and slaming doors, or perhaps an insanely hyper Yuffie who had put too much sugar on her cereal. Yet the castle was quiet...

Too quiet...until...

A loud squeal errupted from around the corner, and Aerith quickened her steps with a smile. She stopped at the start of the new hallway, blinking confusedly at the sight before her. Cloud had Yuffie held in a death grip, arm hooked tightly around her waist and hand covering her mouth. Yuffie was laughing hysterically, face bright red and limbs twitching with uncontained excitement as she tried to break from his hold.

"What's going on?" She questioned lightly, unable to keep the amusement from her voice.

"N-nothing." Cloud muttered a little too quickly and none too convincingly. Yuffie snapped her eyes open at the sound of her voice, normally blue eyes a much lighter shade in the evidential happiness she was feeling. Cloud bent his head close to her ear, muttering something Aerith couldn't quite catch. Yuffie nodded and after a moment of hesitation, Cloud released her.

"Hiya, Aerith!" She giggled, hands covering her cheeks. "I'll... heh...gotta go!"

"What's with her?" Aerith pondered, extremely confused as she watched the ninja dart away, tittering madly.

"Oh, you know.." Cloud took her had, leading her to the kitchen. "Being her usual self."

"You're hiding something!" Aerith smiled. "I can tell! Spill it!"

Her blond lover shook his head, pushing the kitchen door open with one hand and leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"Later." He promised. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

(qwerty)

Normally, when one stepped into Squall Leonhart's room, they would be met with freezing and almost unbearable air. Normally, one would have to brace themselves. But when Yuffie pushed open the door, wincing at the loud squeak it made, she was assaulted from all sides by warm air. Squall never slept in warm air. Squall _couldn't_ sleep in warm air! She stood in the doorway for a long while, looking around the room in shock.

"If you've come to steal something." A soft voice interrupted her thoughts. "Standing in the doorway is not the smartest move."

Squall was lying on his side, elbow cushioned by his pillow. He was staring at her in his usual intense way, demanding without words that she give an explanation for her presence. Yuffie sighed despite herself. Apparently, when things went back to normal, everything went back to normal. She wasn't sure if it was a fare trade. In any case, she felt incredibly good about all this. The calm after the storm; perhaps now she could come up with a better plan to ease him up? If she had learned anything from this not-too-enjoyable experience, it was that she had been trying way too hard. Squall needed to be handled like a flower.

The thought made her giggle as she plopped down beside him on the bed, wondering how Squall would react if he knew what she had just compared him to. Her stomach gave a tiny flip and that nervousness that had assaulted her at the prospect of facing him dissapeared.

"And what does Squall Leonhart have planned for today?" She asked, tilting her head up to look at him.

He closed his eyes. "I'm tired." He muttered, surprising Yuffie as she had expected some cruel comment or demands that she leave.

Maybe something had changed...

"So whatever maniacal idea you have concerning me doing anything," He continued. "Is not worth even your time."

Or not.

"Come on," She pleaded, sitting up and turning to look down at him. "I wanted to take you out to town! I still need to repay you for letting me vomit in your toilet."

"Such a way with words." He said with a face filled with distaste at her phrasing. "I'm not going into town. Forget it."

"We never go anywhere!" She pouted, jumping up so that she was standing on the bed. "In fact, I don't think you've even been to town since we came back here."

He snorted and sat up, pushing her legs so that she fell on to her back. He ignored her complaints as he stood from the bed, making his way towards the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Yuffie sat on the bed, not sure if she should feel indignant or stunned at his actions, considering how used she was to his grumpiness. A few minutes later she heard him turn on the shower. She huffed quietly to herself, standing and squaring her shoulders as she marched over to the bathroom door. It wasn't too difficult to pick bathroom locks, and she swung the door open as soon as she heard the lock give. She heard Squall curse from behind the shower curtain, the water drowning out his words and she smiled smugly as she sat down on the toilet. No one could outwit the Great Ninja Yuffie!

"If you're a good boy and keep quiet," She called out over the water. "I'll tell you why I want to take you out to town."

"Your motive is different than usual?" He said dryly, and she saw his shadow shake his head in mock disbelief. "Are you actually sincere this time, Yuffie?"

"I'm always sincere!" She cried indignantly. "When am I not sincere?"

"You just broke into my bathroom when you knew I was in the shower." He pointed out dryly, smirking despite himself. "That doesn't exactly scream truth and innocence."

Yuffie sniffed. "Shut up, jerkface."

The bathroom went silent except for the running water occasionally splattering against the side of the tub if Squall moved. Yuffie sighed, wondering if Squall was thinking the same thing as her in the silence. That maybe things had changed, and if they hadn;t, the could in the future. Either way, she was determined not to give up. She refused to give up. She would get inside his head, and she would fix him and everything would be jolly. Just jolly!

"Anyway," She stressed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you want to hear my perfectly sincere and considerate reason for making you come in to town with me or not?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway." He sighed. "Not that it matters. I'm not going."

"We'll see about that." She chirped, covering her eyes with her hands when she heard him turn the water off. She sniffed the air loudly and hummed approvingly, the scent of his shampoo wafting as he passed. Leon covered his smile with a towel, not that she would have seen it with her eyes closed so tightly. She only opened her eyes when she heard the clinking of his belts and even then it took all of her efforts not to let her eyes stray. She was defending her sincerity after all. Not that it was her fault he had such a deliciously toned stomach...

She jumped and squeaked when he flicked the towel, both from being startled and at her own thoughts. Since when had she found Squall attractive? Sure, she'd been aware that other girls found he was gorgeous. It was impossible not to notice that. Yet she had never been appealed by him...she had never even thought about it before... This was Squall!

Soaking, Shirtless and Sexy Squall.

"Yuffie?"

She snapped her eyes to his face, mouth working like a fish as she realized what she had just been thinking. His mouth was quirked slightly to the side with amusement, and she realized how obviously flustered she must have been acting at the sight of him fresh from the shower.

"I'm leaving now." He said, gesturing towards the door. "Feel free to stay here."

"N-no!" She jumped up and followed after him, face burning. How humiliating.

She quickly composed herself while his back was turned, pressing her hands to her face in an attempt to cool her cheeks. Why was her body betraying her like this? It wasn't as though she'd never seen him shirtless before...

But Squall was standing in front of her with his arms crossed, expecting an explanation. She shook her head and giggled nervously, pacing from foot to foot. She would have to ponder this unexpected occurrence later.

"Are you going to come now?" She asked brightly, lifting her blush free face to look at his. "Or am I going to have to force you?"

"You can't force me to do anything." He muttered, picking up his jacket from the back of a chair and slipping it on. "Weren't you going to tell me why you want me to come out so badly?"

"Because of your pleasurable company of course!" She said sarcastically, smiling innocently as he glared at her.

"Yuffie." He said warningly, making his way towards the door. "I can only stand to keep my attention focused on you for so long."

"I've noticed." She muttered, stepping in his way. "If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Who would I tell?" He pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...good point." She agreed, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I talked to Cloud this morning. He was kinda upset about me sneaking off without telling anyone."

"Naturally." Squall replied, remembering Cloud's glares at the dinner table that evening.

"Well, after he finally finished lecturing his butt off, he kinda asked me for a favor." Yuffie continued, her smile growing brighter with each word. "And that favor was for you and I to get out of the castle for the day."

Squall's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

Yuffie paused, perhaps to make him feel the agony of impatience and to heighten the suspense. She didn't pull it off for long, jumping rapidly on spot and clapping her hands together.

"Cloud's going to ask Aerith to marry him!" She squealed. "Isn't that fantastic?"

Squall, who had just been taking a sip from the water he kept on his bed side table choked. He was forced to bend over and have Yuffie pat him on the back before he could fully catch his breath. When he finally straightened, he could only stare at his former partner in shock, trying to come to terms with all the wild thoughts running through his head. It was only natural progression he supposed, for two people that in love to marry. But when it came down to it...

"I never thought they'd get married." Yuffie said suddenly, "I mean, obviously they would someday but...it seems so weird after everything that's happened that they'd do something so...normal."

"Hnn.." Squall replied distractedly, running a hand through his hair.

Yuffie frowned at him, wondering if she should say something...if this was really the time to bring up a certain discussion they'd had once...

"So..." Yuffie said quietly, seeing the look on his face and feeling slightly apprehensive. "Will you come? I figured we'd tell Aerith we were getting groceries and stuff and we may as well do that anyway but...if you don't want to go..."

"No." Squall muttered after a moment, turning his back. "No, I'll go. Just let me get ready. I'll meet you at the Rising Falls."

Yuffie nodded, sobered and puzzled to his odd reaction. Not that she had expected him to be as excited as she was or anything. But why would the idea of marriage upset Squall as it had? Turning moody was an old habit of Squall's; lately he only became angry when he was upset. But as she turned back to look at him from the doorway he was sitting on his bed, head down and hands gripping his hair. Her heart gave another sharp pang, the usual feeling she got whenever Squall seemed sad. She wanted nothing more than to walk back into the room and comfort him. But she knew it wouldn't help and it would probably just make him angry...

"Are you sure?" She said softly, and he looked up as if shocked that she was still in the room.

"Yeah." He said, his voice so quiet she could hardly hear him. "Go. I'll be down in a minute."

He watched to make sure she really left this time, turning to face the ceiling as soon as he heard her footsteps fade. He could see her face, laughing and mocking him. Rinoa would be disgusted with him if she knew he was anything but happy for his two companions. In fact, Rinoa would probably be disgusted with everything he had become in the last thirteen years. Leon groaned, closing his eyes and turning his face into his pillow.

"_Everything passes in time, even love."_

His eyes snapped open, a stinging sensation burning them fiercely before he recognized what that feeling meant. He closed his eyes tightly, taking handfuls of his blanket and trying with all his might to clear his mind. Yuffie was so naive; young and forgiving. She had cared for him unconditionally for so long, and even after how he had treated her...she was still here. Rinoa was not. And he was powerless to change it.

"_Squall...If you're not married by the time you should be, I'll marry you."_

A trickle of water slipped past his eyelid, rolling down his cheek and pooling at his chin. He wiped it away agressively, snapping his eyes open as wave after wave of anger pooled in his stomach. He would not waste his time crying. Crying wouldn't change anything and it certainly wouldn't bring Rinoa back.

"Hey you." A quiet voice said from the door, and he tilted his head up to see Yuffie standing in the doorway. He cursed, sitting up quickly and praying that she hadn't been standing there long. Though by the look on her face, his prayer was probably futile.

"Thought I told you to meet me at the Rising Falls." He said grudgingly.

She grinned sheepishly. "Well, I thought we might have to discuss what we're going to tell Aerith before we leave. I mean, I doubt she'll believe us if we tell her we're going on a nice little shopping trip together."

(qwerty)

"So where should we go to first?" Yuffie chirped, hanging off the back of her seat as the bus driving them to town bumped along the road.

Leon shrugged, keeping his gaze out the window and hoping more than anything that no one was paying attention to her embarassing antics. She was always complaining about being treated like a child yet he was pretty sure children were the only ones who hung over their seats and acted ridiculously in public.

Yuffie frowned. "Well, you must have a preference."

"I don't care." He muttered indifferentlypropping his knees up against the seat in front of him and slouching into his own.

"Well, then..." Yuffie muttered, confused at his sudden sullen behavior. He'd seemed in a good enough mood that morning..."Why don't we go visit all of the old places we used to go when we were little?"

"Our towns were all destroyed." He reminded her, his stony gaze remaining out the window. "You know that."

"Of course I know that." She replied impatiently. "But what about the ruins we used to explore? And the gully? And that pond we used to go swimming in?"

"I thought you wanted to go into town." He replied, hardly bothering to cover up the tone in his voice that indicated he didn't want to go anywhere near those places. " Grocery shopping. Isn't that what you said?"

She rolled her eyes. "Its an expression, Squall."

"Leon." He growled, turning his head to her finally and fixing her with such a harsh glare that she froze. Never, in all of the years that she'd known him, had he looked at her quite like that. Even when she'd annoyed him to boiling point. This was the type of look Squall had usually reserved for Seifer.

"Sorry." She whispered, nodding, since that's all she seemed to be able to do. She turned back into her own seat slowly, almost expecting him to tap her on the shoulder and apologize. But when she snuck a look back at him through the crack in her seat, he was merely looking out the window like before, his face completely devoid of expression except for his omnipresent glare. She had a sudden, mad urge to hit him in the face, her heart pounding with indignation. So he was going to go back to being unpleasant was he? He had a lot of nerve. He certainly owed her a bit more than that.

Her face set in a grim line she jumped up, balancing herself as she pulled down on the tiny string the ran along all of the windows on the bus. The vehicle rang with a tiny buzzing sound, alerting the bus driver. He raised his eyebrows at her through the window.

"Balam Ruins." She called to him, and the bus driver gave her a tiny nod before turning his eyes back to the road. She heard Squall shift, but she couldn't be forced to care at that moment. For the first time ever, she was truly annoyed with him. She was going to drag him through every old place she could think of, making him recall every memory. And he wasn't going to say a word about it.

(qwerty)

The air was unpleasantly cold when she stepped off the bus and she was reminded again of the severe climate change that seemed to be occuring on this world. She could remember quite clearly visiting this area every summer for picnics and family gatherings and she was almost certain it had never been this cold. Pulling her scarf more tightly around her shoulders, she smiled out at the sight before her. The Balam ruins, although slightly hassled looking and dusted with snow, looked exactly as she remembered. The remains of an old city, a battered mound of stone. Playing there when she'd been young had always proved exciting.

She jumped when she felt Squall brush past her; she was surprised he had even got off the bus with her since she hadn't forced him to. But there he was, shaking his head as he looked out at the rubble and looking completely unaffected by the chillier weather.

"Looks the same as always!" She said in an attempt to be cheerful.

"Ugly." He agreed, turning to her with an expecting gaze.

"Is that all you have to say?" She cried, twiling around happily as the pair of them slowly made their way up the hill that lead to the first section of ruins. " This used to be our favourite spot to play! All the summers here and the explorations we used to have! And all you can say is ugly?"

He shrugged, pausing at the top of the hill and crossing his arms impatiently. "Even if I did care, which I don't, some old sentimental attatchment doesn't change the fact that it's just a big pile of stone. Ugly."

"You had your first kiss here!" She continued relentlessly, throwing her arms over her face dramatically as she anticipated his harsh glare.

He casually reached out his harm, taking hold of her black tresses and giving her head a sharp yank. She yelped loudly, flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to break his grip. Squall dodged her fists with unsurprising ease, gazing down at her in a stern fashion that made her feel like a naughty child. She played her part well, dropping her arms to her sides and attempting to look ashamed as she peeked up at him.

His grip on her hair finally loosened and Yuffie shivered as the cold leather of his gloves brushed her neck. Then she was shoved away from him, tripping over a rock and falling into the snow. She glared up at him, rubbing her side and cursing him for ruining the freakin' moment. Would it be so difficult for him to act the Romantic Novel Hero when the part fit?

"And the signifigance of our friendship comes to light," she sniffed, getting up and hurrying to follow him down the hill. "We're such good pals that violence is an act of affection."

"Hardly." He commented, smirking at her as she huffed and pushing open the gate that incircled the ruins. "I was trying to teach you a lesson about how snow could can be when you're not wearing very many clothes."

She gasped delightedly as she caught full sight of the empty, anciet city, ignoring his comment as she shot forwards. It took only a moment, while he was wiping something out of his eye, for him to lose sight of her. He frowned, looking around at the empty, beaten up street and seeing nor hearing any trace of her.

"Yuffie?" He called, checking behind his shoulder just in case she was...planning something.

"In here!" Her voice floated from a small, burnt scorched house to his left. He crossed the road in exasperation, pushing open the half-torn door and stepping inside the old house. He couldn't see her at first, distracted by the burnt walls and colony of spiderwebs that littered the high ceiling. He stepped foward hesitantly, eyeing the ceiling suspiciously.

"I don't think its safe in here." He said, looking around until he caught sight of Yuffie crouching in the far corner of the house. "Doesn't look very stable."

"Hold on!" Yuffie called, dusting the walls furiously. "I think we may have signed the walls here somewhere!"

"This house might have looked a little more agreeable back then." He stressed, standing behind her. "We should get out."

"One second–"

Her furiously swiping arm came in contact with the support poles. The iron post shook uncertainly. Squall jumped foward and grabbed Yuffie by the collar, tugging her with him as he jumped out of the way. Peices of burnt ceiling wood fell in a shower.

"Woo!" Yuffie giggled, swiping peices of dust from her bangs. "That was a close one!"

Squall pulled her angrily from his chest, gripping her tightly by the shoulders and giving her a few shakes.

"A _close_ one?" He yelled, staring angrily into her startled face. "Do you realize what you could have done?"

"Eh..." The hand brushing the soot from her face stilled as she considered this. "Ceiling falls...Squall and Yuffie go squish?"

"Exactly. When I tell you something, you do it. Understand?" He growled, gripping her shoulders in an even tighter grip. "The last thing I need is for you to go squish."

She stared at him with wide eyes. Squall dropped his gaze almost immediately, taking his arms from her shoulders and standing so quickly Yuffie could have sworn she was burning him. However, she didn't say anything, gazing at him in wonder at the feelings washing over her.

"Squall..." She whispered, clutching at the skin above her heart.

"Leon." He whispered in return, standing in the doorway. "We're leaving."

She watched as he pushed his way into the street and knew she should follow him. Yet she continued to kneel in the center of the slightly spinning room, her eyes on the spot where she had last been able to see him and her heart pounding wildly. Slowly, almost unsurely, the sense of possibility both attractive and frightening, drained from the room. Her heart slowly turned to normal and she hopped to her feet, taking off after him down the street.

Something _had _changed...

The rest of the day was so uncomfortable that Yuffie often considered suggesting they return to the castle, despite the fact that they would be interrupting Cloud. But no matter how mad the desire was, she knew she couldn't do that to him. So instead, she forced herself to live through the silences that accomponied them every place they went and the disappointment in what had promised to be a fun day. It was an odd feeling really; she had been so bent on getting some reaction out of him for so long and yet now that she had, she wasn't sure if she liked it. He had unintentionally, if not violently, shown her that he cared. So why was she so...nervous?

She was thrown from side to side in her seat as the bus bumped along the road, watching the bus' lights dance along the grass as they passsed. The silence was pounding on her skull more forcefully than it had the whole day, and she noted that the bus ride seemed considerably longer than before. There was only so many things she could do; look out the window, hum, untie and retie her shoelaces, examine her nails. Finally, with an inner cry of agony, she turned around in her seat.

"Squall?" She said carefully, in case he was asleep.

He blinked his eyes open, lifting his forehead from the window and turning to look at her. She swallowed nervously, examining her nails as she thought of what to say.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked, hoping for once that he would say no.

His eyes flickered and he gave a small nod.

"U-um." She cursed inwardly. "I'm really sorry for what happened today. I should have listened to you."

He looked away and she stuttered over her words. Surely, she probably should have thought of what to ask before telling him she had a question. But then...when had she ever had nothing to say to Squall? He was sitting patiently, examining the floor very closely, and she knew she had to ask something. Finally, in desperation to end the silence, she blurted:

"If you could get Rinoa and I to trade places, would you do it?"

The silence that followed was worse than anything that had gone on that day. Yuffie slowly brought her hand to her mouth as she watched Squall's eyes harden slowly in anger. He was practically shaking with it.

"Why would you ask that?" He hissed, shifting forward in his seat. "Why the _hell_ would you ask that?"

She wrung her hands, shaking with nerves. "I didn't...that came out wrong...I didn't mean it like that...Squall...I'm so sorry!"

He snorted, shaking his head as he slumped back into his seat. Yuffie watched in misery at his jaw tightened, arms crossed and nails digging into his own skin. This was an opening for Leon's thoughts to resurface, to drag Squall back into his old shell. She couldn't let that happen!

She swung herself into his seat, launching herself at him and wrapping her arms tightly around his chest and clinging there. Squall shifted in shock and probably slight pain, staring down at her head.

"I'm sorry!" She repeated, her voice hoarse. "I didn't mean it, I really didn't!"

He sighed, his chest rising and falling under Yuffie's head. The young ninja clamped her eyes tightly shut, failing to stench the flow of tears that were steadily flowing down her cheeks. Squall shifted again, this time lifting his arms and holding her back in a loose embrace. Yuffie looked up in shock, arrested by the expression on his face. Sad, almost, as if he knew what was going through her head. Knowing him, he probably did.

"I understand." He was all he said, hands warm against her back.

She looked into his face, and the sense of expectancy was back. Yuffie's hearing dulled to the point where she could hear her own heartbeat. It felt to her as though she could do or say anything in that moment without facing any consequence. Like a dream. Squall's open expression only encouraged this feeling, and she parted her lips, ready to spill out whatever thoughts have been plaguing her mind for so long.

Suddenly, the bus gave a rather sharp jerk, throwing Yuffie to the side before Squall could tighten his grip to keep her in place. The man was frowning up at the bus driver, and Yuffie was suddenly aware of her pounding heart and what she had been about to do. What the hell was going on?

"G-geeze." She feigned indignance, flopping back into her seat. "Holy drunk driving, Batman!"

Squall chuckled, looking back out the window.

"Hey, sorry for the waterworks." She said cheerfully, although she felt anything but cheerful. "Visiting all these places gets me a little worked up, y'know."

He raised an eyebrow, no doubt seeing through her lie and shrugged. "Whatever."

She felt as though at this point some awkwardness should have come into play. They should have kept caught eachother sneaking looks, but every time she looked at him he didn't or pretended not so see. Finally, the bus drove over a Fate Implanted Pothole, and Yuffie lost her balance slightly, her leg slipping foward across the floor of the bus and coming in contact with Squall's. He looked down at their touching skin, his hand brushing his chin as he tilted his head to look at her. She grinned and turned away, slouching comfortably into her seat. Something had changed, she had no doubt.

She left the leg where it was.

"Yuffie..."

"Mmm?"

"We never got any groceries.."

* * *

YAY! How did you like it? Oooh...I hope you liked it. _checks time_ This took me four hours. I should probably go...you know eat, stretch my legs, do homework ect..

Well?


	7. What's it feel like?

"Promising Entirely."

Disclaimer: I own nothing! I'm making no money. The sheep are lying. (Moo)

A/N: So, what's it been? A week? A month? Maybe two? My muse was recently injured in a scuba diving accident, but I am happy to say she has made a full recovery!

Paper-Clip Man of Word says it looks like I'm writing a letter! It wants to help. But it didn't understand when I wrote 'Squffie' to it. Oh well.

Shout-outs:

**Lain**: Inspirational Q-tip of Doom! OMGWTFBBQ! Where'd you get that? Sah-weet dude. Updated, as requested! YAR.

**Baffled**: Eh…I'm not sure if I should be insulted or complimented but I'll take the latter since that makes me feel better. Heh. Thank you for the spelling info...I'm absolutely horrible at homonyms.

**Sugacoated-Cherries**: Squall? Open up? NEVER. cackles at the irony and flees

**Darkness2light**: I'm very glad you like it! Its always nice to hear that! But…I would never be as evil to make Squall answer that question. Could you imagine? Poor Squally-boy.

**Kimou**: It made you happy? **is happy** Hehehe…Yuffie is one of my favorite characters to write! No one beats Riku though.

**Iris**: You rock, dude! **head slams** No, no, I haven't been watching too much Finding Nemo or…or anything. Hah! I get to update SSTH now that I've updated this! Its good, because Ann was eventually going to kill me. Yes…Squall…well, I wrote that scene for my own enjoyment too, eh?

**YK2**: Yeah…heh…I'm going to have Aerith wonder the same thing eventually too. Maybe...you know, twenty years later. NO! You must try cinnamon and gravy yourself! It's the only way to try it!

**October**: Woo! U…Q? Hehehehe…its QWERTY! Because if you look at the keyboard, they're all in a line. Qwerty…you see? Yes, YES! Update your stories! I command thee! NOOOOW!

**Ghettotaku**: You…you don't have…poutine..in the states? AHHH! How do you LIVE!

**NeonRaine**: Merci Buckets! This chapter was fun to write too…because I am evil.

**Anti-R**: Hahahah. Sorry, Darlin'. This update took ages too…

**Destiny'sPromise**: Woot! Sorry it took so long!

**Ann**: Now, NOW you can stop the beating! Heheheh. Just kidding. Ann, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? I think you do. So many things to say….so little time…YOU ROCK, DUDE! **head bonks**

**ShadowKairi**: Merci! But Leon isn't THAT much older than Yuffie, keep in mind. I don't think age would really be a factor. Anyway, the stories not about them anyway, which is why its up to us to fill in the holes! Thanks for the re-view SKAI!

Er…er…drum roll…uh..please?

* * *

"A ball?"

"Yuffie…"

"A _ball_? Are you _crazy_?"

Aerith sighed loudly, dropping a handful of syrup-covered cutlery into the soapy pool of water in the kitchen sink. They had only just begun to clear breakfast up—many of the castle's occupants had decided to join them in order to celebrate the new engagement—and already Yuffie was pouting, refusing to do her work until she was properly satisfied. Despite what the young girl was constantly asserting, she was still very much a child.

"It wasn't my idea, Yuffie." She said, leaning against the counter. "Everyone seems so excited about this! I couldn't take away a chance for them to have a party."

"Oh, a party, maybe!" Yuffie replied. "But a party is _not_ the same thing as a ball!"

"It _does_ seem a bit extravagant, I admit." Aerith admitted hesitantly, glancing at her husband-to-be.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders helplessly, setting a stack of plates beside the sink. "What's the big deal, Yuffie? I would have expected you to be all happy and bouncy and hop-ish at the idea of a party."

"But this isn't a party! It's a ball!"

"So what's the problem?" He persisted, raising a slender eyebrow as her cheeks puffed out in fury. She was beginning to look very red, and he wondered if she gave out some sort of warning before self-destructing.

Yuffie waved her arms in the air for a few moments before speaking, as if sorting through a heap of reasons why a ball was preposterous.

"There'll be champagne! And dresses! And dancing!" She cried, pounding her fists on to the table with each listed object of revulsion.

Cloud, who knew full well those three things were what she hated most, excluding air travel, turned away before the rather dangerous-looking ninja saw his smile. But Aerith was not so wise and it seemed to Cloud she never _learned_ about the potential danger that was Yuffie Kisaragi. His fiancée was leaning towards their young friend with an honest look of confusion.

"Don't you know how to dance, Yuffie?" She questioned, clearly bewildered. Cloud and even Leon, who had remained completely silent behind his newspaper throughout the entire conversation, winced.

"Because we had so many dance-related events in Traverse." The ninja replied coolly.

"Oh, my!" Aerith clasped a hand over her mouth. "Yes, of course! I'd forgotten how young you were when…"

Her voice faltered and the silence the followed was not so much awkward or charged, as it usually was, but sad. To Aerith, it did not seem appropriate for any of them to be sad the day after Cloud's proposal. And so she cleared her throat promptly, placing an encouraging hand on Yuffie's shoulder.

"Leon can teach you." She said briskly, inwardly amazed at how business-like she could sound if she tried. Cloud's thoughts were among the same lines. But it seemed Leon was much too distracted by her actual words than the tone in which she had said them.

"No." He said, glaring up at Aerith with the special look he reserved just for her. The kind of _I'm going to pour herbicides all over your garden if you don't shut up now_ look.

"Yes." She replied, leaning towards him with the _I can easily replace your weapon-polish with acid if you don't do what I say _look that was essential for these situations. "Yuffie needs to learn how to dance!"

"Cloud can teach her." He replied; _I'll chop off your braid while you sleep_.

"Cloud and Yuffie never get any work done." She reminded him; _don't even get me started on what I can chop off_.

It was this thought, perhaps, if not Yuffie and Cloud's indignant protests at being called slackers, that snapped Aerith out of their _conversation_. It was interesting how crude her inner-voice seemed to be.

"Leon, _please_?" She pleaded, clasping her hands together. "For Yuffie?"

Both he and Yuffie snorted, and Aerith had to admit that probably hadn't been the best thing to say. Not if she wanted to actually get anywhere productive.

"For me, then?" She said softly, looking down at her shoes.

"_Fine._" He growled, unable to resist Aerith's irresistible kicked-puppy face and also rather concerned about her latest threat. She smiled brightly at him, was given a look that clearly said _curse you to the bottom of my shoe and back, vindictive bitch_, and concluded the entire ordeal by gently patting Yuffie on the head.

"There, see?" She said cheerfully. "Now you'll be able to dance for the party."

"Ball." Yuffie muttered, but that was all she seemed to be able to come up with. Satisfied that she'd managed to rid Yuffie of all stubbornness for the time being, she made her way over to the sink and plunged her hands into the soapy water, humming contently.

Yuffie and Leon shared a look, one completely void of any unpleasant, fully intentional subconscious thoughts.

He sighed. "Shall we?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. But you're not getting me in a dress."

FISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFISHFI

She had never seen the ballroom before. She hadn't even been sure there was one. It was located in the bottom east end of the castle, a place she had shamefully admitted to Squall she hadn't known existed. In any case, she was quite sure she never wanted to see it again. True, it was gigantic, roughly the size of the First and Second Districts of Traverse town put together. And it was quite beautiful, stone carvings, paintings of lost artists and sunlight streaming from the skylight ceiling. And she _did_ amuse herself for several minutes by listening to her own voice echoing back to her. But that hardly constituted for _anything_. Not when she was being forced so _cruelly _to dance.It seemed that Squall considered teaching her equally as cruel, as his words and instructions were coming from clenched teeth.

"_One_, two, three. _One_, two, three." He muttered into her ear, lips close to her ear as he attempted to guide her around the dance floor with a hand to her back. "_One, two, three._ Yuffie, do you know how to count?"

She sighed in aggravation, a droplet of sweat running down the back of her neck as she pushed away from him. Squall pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head with an aggravated sigh of his own.

"I can't do this." She stomped her foot. "I don't know what Aerith was thinking. I'll just stand by the punch bowl, drinking booze and occasionally adding it to the juice. That's usually what I do at parties like these."

"You never go to parties like these and your lack of alcohol tolerance is vicious." He pointed out, foiling her plan. "Besides, you're not concentrating. Relax."

She took a deep breath, attempting to carry out his request as she slowly relaxed her shoulders. Squall nodded, apparently satisfied, but the moment he stepped towards her she began to tense up again.

"What is it?" He asked, as she stepped away. "Its not like I'm going to hurt you."

"Y-you smell bad!" She blurted, cheeks red. He raised an eyebrow.

"I smell bad." He repeated.

Of all the things she could have said. Of course, it wasn't _all_ her fault that she felt so flustered. He'd washed his hair with the shampoo he _knew_ she thought smelt good. He'd worn that shirt that revealed just a little of his stomach, not enough to satisfy but just enough to leave little for the imagination. His hands were ungloved, warm against her arm and back as he'd held her while they danced. Squall _always_ wore his gloves.

'_If this wasn't Squall,' _She thought, '_I'd think he were trying to seduce me.'_

The thought alone sent a tiny tickle of hilarity through her, hardly replacing the shaky feeling of nerves but just enough to dampen it. She took another deep breath, this time to calm her heart, and looked up at her partner with a teasing smile. It was vital that Squall never figured out the thoughts behind her odd behavior.

"Yes, you smell bad!" She cried, pinching her nose. "Like leather and dust and wet socks."

"I can't _imagine_ why I would smell like leather." He muttered sarcastically, taking another step towards her. "Are we going to finish this or not?"

He heard her sharp intake of breath, and paused his steps again, confused. Yuffie was acting very strange.

"_What_, Yuffie?" He growled, crossing his arms. "Does your ankle hurt or something?"

Her ankle? Men really were stupid.

"No." She muttered softly, looking at her feet.

He frowned. "You're giving up?"

She was silent.

"Since when does the Greatest Ninja Ever give up?"

"I don't!" She snapped, looking up at him.

"Aerith is counting on you." He said seriously, extending his hand to her. "Are you going to let her down or not?"

She stared at his hand. Once he thought he saw her hand twitch at her side, as if she had almost decided to take his. Eventually, she shook her head, taking another step back.

"I don't want to let Aerith down." She said, rubbing her arm. "But can we…uh…take a break or something?"

Squall sighed, nodding his head and watching as Yuffie skipped off to their stuff piled near the door. They had just had breakfast so he wasn't hungry, and he knew Yuffie wasn't either. All the same, she pulled out the foil-wrapped packages Aerith had given them for lunch, sat against the nearest wall and unwrapped hers, taking a large bite of a sandwich. Hoping that maybe some food would cure Yuffie of whatever was making her act so weirdly, he headed towards her.

Yuffie had hoped the same thing. She'd relentlessly stuffed food into her stomach even if she knew it was still jam packed with pancakes. If more food didn't give her strength, maybe she'd make herself sick so she wouldn't have to go to the ball at all. Squall must have thought the same thing, ordering her to slow down as he tossed his hardly eaten sandwich into the garbage bin. In any case, taking a break hadn't helped as she thought it would. In fact, Squall's silence as she ate was only making her twitchier.

"Squall?" She muttered through a mouthful of cheese.

"Leon." He grunted, eyeing her smacking mouth with disgust. "Don't chew with your mouth open."

She swallowed. "Sorry."

He shrugged, looking away. "Whatever."

"What's it like to be in love?" She questioned, taking another large bite of her sandwich. She'd have to know someday, right?

He whirled around to stare at her. "What?"

'_Okay,_" She thought, relieved. His reaction to her question hadn't been nearly as bad as it had been the night before.

"You heard me." She grinned, throwing her arms over her knees and leaning towards him with interest. "What's it like to be in love?"

"I've never been in love." He said, meeting her gaze unblinkingly. He was a practiced liar.

"Liar." She accused, frowning. "You were in love with Rinoa."

He looked at her sharply, disapprovingly. It had no effect, as usual. Yuffie was the only person who wasn't afraid to mention Rinoa in front of him. It had always been like that.

"We're not having this discussion." He muttered.

"Yes, we are!" She persisted, poking his arm. "We're having it now. What's wrong with talking about love?"

He snorted, waving her off. "Nothing."

"So?"

"So go talk to Aerith about it or something!" He snapped angrily, pushing himself to his feet. "Get up, we're finishing this now."

He kept his back to her, and through years and years of attempting to break through his defenses, she could tell that she'd upset him. She knew that pestering him was not the way to go when you wanted something from Squall. She could see, even from across the room, that his shoulders were tense. She would have to drop this.

For now.

"Hey, I was just wondering." She said with a smile, approaching him slowly. "I thought you'd be the safest to ask. I have a feeling Aerith would go into a winded speech about it."

"I'm not a good person to ask." He said, glancing at her. "I have no heart, remember?"

She winced slightly, having said that in one of their many verbal fights back in Traverse. She hadn't cared about him so much back then and she'd never been concerned about hurting him. He brought it up at every possible chance and now she regretted it.

"No," She said, still smiling slightly and stepping close. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you had no heart, you'd be a heartless."

He wrapped his arm around her back. "You dance with heartless?"

Their free hands touched and Squall raised them into the air. Their fingers intertwined ever so slightly, and a light tickle spread through her palms touching his, moved up her arm and settled somewhere over her chest. She glanced into his face, heart thumping, eyes wide and smiled.

"You know what I think?" She said softly, as they whirled over the dance floor.

"Nothing good." He replied immediately, and smirked as she clicked her tongue.

"I think you've got a heart." She told him, moving her hand so it touched his shirt where his heart would be. "A big, goopy heart."

"Goopy?" He glanced down at her. "What makes you think that?"

"I've known you for a long time." She reminded him with a large grin. "You were born with it."

He snorted. "I think I'm more comfortable with being called a Heartless."

"Nah." She said, reaching up to tousle his hair. "The claws wouldn't suit you."

He slapped her hand away, shoving her aside. She tripped over their slightly entangled legs and was sent sprawling over the ground. She sat up with an enraged curse and glared at him. He ignored her, swiping his hair back into order. He seemed to like pushing her to the ground a lot. (A/N: Ooooh, the innuendo! This is what studying Shakespeare does to you..)

"Where are you going?" She huffed, brushing herself off as she stood. _All_ she had done was touched his hair!

He held up a music disc for her to see and she brightened.

"I'm getting good enough for music?"

"No," He said dully as the grand music filled the room and he made his way back to her. "I just thought music might stop you from talking."

SHARKSHARKSHARKSHARKSHARKSHARKSHARK

"Yuffie!" Aerith cried, almost six hours later. "You look _gorgeous_!"

Yuffie blinked and turned in a full circle to examine her dress. The blue skirt wasn't as puffy as most of the dresses she knew she'd be seeing tonight. In fact, her dress wasn't much like a ball gown at all. But as far as Yuffie was concerned, wearing a dress at all had exceeded expectations. She felt oddly self-conscious. Especially with her hair done up and away from her face.

"I don't know…" She murmured, feeling her own shoulders tense. "I feel…stupid."

"Stupid?" Aerith smiled, rushing up the stairs that lead away from the ballroom and clasping Yuffie's upper arms. "Don't be silly. You look fantastic."

Cloud ascended the stairs in a much calmer fashion, although he too was smiling. "You prepared?"

Yuffie grinned, baring her teeth like fangs, and flashed a shuriken at him from the laces in her top. The blond nodded his approval.

"Good work." He said seriously, and Yuffie giggled.

"What do you need weapons for?" Aerith questioned, confused as they made their way down the stairs and to the ballroom doors. Cloud smiled down at her as Yuffie pushed open the doors. The entire room seemed to turn towards them as they entered. Herds of young men stormed towards the door, swarming a startled looking Yuffie as she made her way into the crowd.

"That." Cloud murmured into Aerith's ear. He grinned as her face flushed a light shade of pink, took her gently by the hand and led her on to the dance floor. His hands smoothed away the soreness in her back, birthed from the frantic preparations for the evening, with simply a gentle touch and he smelled wonderfully. Suddenly, her fiancé seemed much more important.

Leon, in the meantime, had found a nice, comfortable spot on the wall. His suit itched and the woman by the _hors d'oeuvre_ table hadn't quite mastered the art of concealing the fact that she was looking at his butt. Granted, he _was_ leaning against the wall. It was probably quite difficult for her to get a good view from there. Still, he wasn't quite sure how Aerith had managed to talk him into this. Certainly, he'd told Yuffie that whole bit about doing this for Aerith but did that really apply to _him_?

The kind woman was currently twirling in her lover's arms, cheeks flushed and eyes alight with happiness. Remembering a young and sad Aerith, filled to the brim with inner strength, and seeing her now, so happy, made him smile. He knew why he was here, why this ball had been organized in the first place. Everyone loved to see her smile. Aerith deserved to be happy.

But that didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

He stiffened as Yuffie paused to talk to Aerith, breathing hard and cheeks redder than ever Aerith's. There was a herd of young men waiting behind her, practically pushing to get into the right position so they could have the next dance. He'd noticed her, like everyone else, when she'd first stepped into the room. It was hard not to…_not _because she looked nice…because he'd never seen her in a dress. And she hadn't had a moment by herself all night, so surrounded was she by men.

_Not_ that he'd been watching her or anything…

"If looks could kill…"

He turned to see a grinning Tynan, hair pinned back and sparkly dress swishing around her. _This_ was an even greater shock; he'd never seen Tynan in a dress either. The young girl leaned beside him, squinting out at Yuffie with great interest and, it seemed to him, amusement. He crosses his arms, looking out at the young ninja as well.

"What do you mean?" He asked coolly, watching as a tall, lanky man touched Yuffie's revealed back.

"That's got to be the sixteenth one." She continued, as the man pulled Yuffie into a dance.

"Sixteenth what?"

"Suitor!" She giggled slightly, pushing away from the wall to look at him. "And you should see the way you're glaring at them!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He muttered, after a long pause. Tynan nodded, one eyebrow raised. He supposed he should have come up with a quicker come back.

"Why don't you ask her to dance?" She said, as if she hadn't heard him.

The look he sent her was absolutely livid, and Tynan grasped the material of her dress in her hands. An awkward pause, Tynan picked at her hair distractedly, and Leon realized whom exactly he was talking to. Aerith had warned him against terrifying young people.

He sighed, taking her by the shoulders and leading her in the opposite direction. "Go spike the punch or something, okay?"

"Okay." She said cheerfully, brushing his hands off her shoulders. "But if you ask me, I think you're jealous. The way you were seething and all."

"I didn't ask you." He said, his tone cold. "And I wasn't seething. Now scat."

She scat, and Leon was against left alone with his thoughts. But now they were tainted, fully aware was he of the taut muscles in his shoulders each time he caught sight of Yuffie dancing by with another young man, or _suitor_ as Tynan had called them. He snorted. There was no way that Yuffie would consider them _suitors_. Yuffie wasn't allowed to have _suitors_.

But what if she did? There were an awful lot of young men for her to choose from. But then…what did it matter if Yuffie had a boyfriend? In fact it would be good. She would be too distracted by her lover boy and she would leave him alone. That was good. Yes, good.

Wasn't it?

"Hello, boy."

He jumped, staring at the woman leaning towards him from his left side. She'd been sneaking along the wall to him this entire time? She was stunningly pretty close up, and her perfume was intoxicating as she leaned even close to him.

"You're pretty good looking." She purred, stroking his arm. (A/N: This woman was not inspired by Battle for the Bishies…not at ALL)

He frowned, inching away. "Thank you."

"You wanna dance?"

"Sorry, ma'am. He's already got a dancing partner."

Then he was being tugged by the wrist away from the wall and the woman, pushed into several groups of people, whirled around and pushed on to the dance floor, and was suddenly in the hold of Yuffie Kisaragi. She grinned up at him.

"Felt like I had to save you." She said, slipping an arm around his shoulders and taking his hand. "You're obviously not used to being hit on."

"You seem to be well educated on the subject." He replied, as their feet moved in a practiced sequence they had been working on all day. Quite a few young men were glaring at _him_ now.

"I don't get it." She muttered, shaking her head. "I haven't ever been chased after by these guys, even though I practically live with them, and now I show up in a dress and clown paint and suddenly they're interested?"

"Yeah, well." He looked away from her flushed face, an odd feeling in his stomach he couldn't place. Was he going to be sick? "That's usually how the male mind works."

"And my teacher doesn't even _try_ to dance with me." She teased, "Don't you want to see the result of all your hard work?"

He grunted, and they fell into silence amongst the soft music and the chatter. Squall couldn't seem to touch her without feeling he was going somewhere he shouldn't go. Perhaps it was because so much skin was showing. But that wasn't all. Her skin looked pale and soft, and although Yuffie had never deprived him of physical contact in the long years he had known her, he had a longing to touch her, as if he had always been deprived of her.

She slipped closer, wrapping her arms around his back, and he was having difficulty breathing.

"Is something wrong?" She asked quietly, patting his back. "You're being really quiet."

"Yuffie, I'm always quiet." His voice was barely more than a whisper. "Why would you think something was wrong?"

She pulled back and smiled, and somewhere deep in his chest, his heart skipped another beat.

"Because you haven't looked away from my feet in at least ten minutes." She told him, tilting her head to the side.

_Her feet?_

"Scared you're going to step on mine." He said, voice hoarse. "You're clumsy."

She grinned, and slipped her arms around him again, head resting on his chest. It seemed the attention of so many people had reinforced a strong confidence in her. He swallowed, palm brushing against hers as he almost tripped, to his mortification, over his _own_ feet.

She laughed. "I'm going to have to call your bluff there, Squall."

He blinked down at her. "What?"

She stuck a pose. "Ninja!"

"So?"

She winked. "Ninja's aren't clumsy."

Whatever he might have said to that was interrupted when a short and plump man stood up on stage, presumably where Ansem's chair had once sat, and brought the microphone to his lips. It squealed loudly, and he cleared his throat, gazing apologetically at the deafened people who had been standing right near the speakers.

"Alright, everyone!" He said joyfully, a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead. "Its time for…_The Contessa_!"

Squall and Yuffie pulled apart and stared as the people around them began to cheer wildly. They were dividing into groups just as a fast beat began to blare from the speakers, and they all began to dance in synchrony.

"You…uh…didn't teach me that one." Yuffie said, aside to Squall.

Her companion shook his head and she giggled slightly, watching the wild dancers amusedly before turning to him.

"Want to go outside until this one is over?" She asked brightly, "I'm boiling."

He nodded. Outside was dark. Dark was good.

RIKURIKURIKURIKURIKURIKURIKURIKURIKURIKU

She leaned comfortably against the railing, gazing up at the stars with awe. It was so clear tonight! Squall stood uncomfortably behind her, unsure what to do with himself. It was an unusually loss of poise and he really, _really_ did not like it. She hoisted herself so she was seated against the railing, smiling at him and patting the spot next to her. He hesitated before sitting beside her with some reluctance.

"What's with you tonight?" She asked, poking him. "You're really…twitchy."

"Thank you." He replied grudgingly. "It's the suit."

She smiled. "You know, you've changed." (A/N: looks back and forth between Tidus and Yuffie in confusion.)

He glanced at her, take aback by this random comment. She wasn't even looked at him, tilting her head to look up at the sky.

" For so long…even a few weeks ago you were so angry and upset all the time. I thought you hated us a lot. Spending time with any of us was like a death sentence to you. But now you're…you're different."

He stared at her and she shrugged. He thought back to what Tynan had told him, what he'd been thinking afterwards, how he'd wanted to touch Yuffie's back only a few minutes ago. How she'd looked, walking into the ballroom. And even yesterday, when he'd seen the debris falling from the unstable house, how he'd felt when he'd pulled her out of harms way…

"I guess you're right." He said softly.

"Maybe its just tonight." She said cheerfully, hoping off the railing and turning fully to look at the sky. "We're both in weird moods."

They fell into silence again, Yuffie staring at the sky, Squall staring at her. Then the music changed inside, followed by a light cheer, and Yuffie turned to head back inside. Squall slid down, off the railing, watched her retreating back. That odd feeling in his stomach intensified and he reached out to grab her wrist.

"It feels wild, crazy." He blurted out desperately, "Like all your emotions are mixed up and touching, and all you want to do is mix yourself in it and lose yourself because it feels so incredible. Like nothing can bring you down from what you're feeling and you get so caught up in it that you can't breathe. And everything…everything just…_mixes_ and it feels like you're spinning out of control. But you don't want it to stop."

"Squall…" She whispered, turning to him. His hold on her wrist was lax but he didn't let her go.

"It's the one thing in the world that can keep you alive no matter what and yet there isn't life without it." He let her go and took a step back. "Its really…really…amazing."

She looked into his face, and when he looked at her he saw that her eyes were brimming with tears.

"You told me once that love doesn't last forever." She whispered, her voice hitching as she looked at him.

He closed his eyes, unable to stay locked with hers any longer. "I lied."

She let the tears fall as Squall stood and brushed past her. She slumped against the railing and attempted to wipe them away, but they continued to fall at a steady pace until she just let them go. It had been unexpected, at a moment she never would have anticipated. It seemed so insignificant that now would be the time that she would find what she'd been looking for since Squall had first stepped back into her life.

He'd let her in.

She could feel it, exactly the way he had described it, a kaleidoscope that hummed against her skin. She hated him, wanted him, she despaired over his sadness and was terrified with the knowledge that she would easily die for him, without a second thought. It was intense, way too intense. But she couldn't stop it. And now she knew exactly what she was feeling.

She was in love with Squall Leonhart.

* * *

Well, I'm not too sure about this chapter just yet, but I had to get it out there so Ann would stop beating me.

Hope you liked it. Yuffie's finally realized what we've all known all along! Initially, I was going to have Squall realize he loved her, but I thought that would be a bit too unrealistic. And it would be kind of funny if Squall realized he loved Yuffie before Yuffie realized she loved him. Especially since this story is essentially supposed to be about how far Yuffie's love goes for him, considering she's loved him (even non-romantically) since they were children.

Also, I hope this wasn't too OOC, but the ball atmosphere is supposed to put them in a weird, reflective, love-realizing mood.

And Tynan, of course, was through in there for manipulation purposes. And to spike the punch.

Any-too-hoots…Please tell me what you thunk! (Think, yes.)

Bert. (hehehe..ehe..)


	8. This is where he is

**"Promising Entirely"**

**Disclaimer**: I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy to own Squall, so sexy it hurts. And I'm too sexy for your party, too sexy to own Yuffie, the way I'm disco dancing. I'm a model, you know what I mean, and I most certainly don't own Cloud, on the catwalk, or own Aerith, yeah, and I do my little turn (I don't own anything related to FF) on the catwalk. And I'm too sexy for this disclaimer.

**A/N: **Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeals. Oh, my loves! How I've missed you so! Please don't hurt me. I can see in your eyes that you want to. Here it is! I hope you like. I like. There are Laguna cameos and um…psychiatric sausages. Love and cookies and I'm so, so sorry!

* * *

"_Squall, eat. No, I mean it, _eat!_" _

_The tall man swiped a greying piece of hair from his green eyes with an impatient sigh. Squall tapped his fingers against the dark oak table and said nothing, shaking his head when the older man slid the plate of sausages towards him. He wasn't hungry. Why did people always pressure him to eat? He didn't _feel_ like eating. The man folded his arms across the table and leaned towards him with that usual look of annoying concern._

"_What's the matter?" He asked, putting his fork down. "You haven't eaten in days. Are you sick?"_

"_No." Squall replied, leaning back in his seat. "I'm just not hungry."_

"_Aren't teenage boys supposed to be eating machines?" He shook his head, lifting his fork, and chewed thoughtfully on a piece of breakfast sausage. "I'll tell you, when I was your age…"_

"_Leave it, Dad." Squall pushed his chair back and stood. "I'm going for a walk."_

"_Alright. Don't go too far." Even as he said it, Laguna didn't look up from his plate, and for a moment Squall felt guilty for the hurt he saw. He and his father weren't exactly close, but Squall usually made an effort to be civil with him. It wasn't his fault he'd been feeling off the last few days, and as Squall pulled on his jacket and pushed through the screen door of their summer home, he decided his father was much too easily hurt._

**He wishes now hurt wasn't the last thing between them.**

"Leon, could you pass the jam, please?"

Leon passed her the jam without complaint, crunching his cereal as quietly as one can crunch and hardly looking up from his bowl as he did so. Yuffie thanked him and began spreading the fruity paste over her near-burnt toast, just the way she liked it, and the room fell silent once again. Cloud's teeth stilled, perched upon the tip of a croissant. A home fry fell off the end of Aerith's fork before she could place it in her mouth.

"Where's the sugar?" Leon questioned a few moments later, frowning at the table before him, where the container full of sweet white sand was absent. Yuffie paused in the act of sprinkling it over the jam on her toast and smiled sheepishly as she handed it over to him. Their fingers brushed, but there was no explosion from either part at the fact that they had touched each other. Aerith and Cloud dropped their hands and stared at each other.

Leon poured a tiny bit of sugar over his baked rice cereal and Yuffie's hand shot across the table before he could set it down, taking a hold of the Gunblader's hand and tipping it towards his bowl. A large portion of sugar fell and disappeared into the milk and Aerith gasped, waiting for the inevitable angry reaction that soon would follow. But it never did. Leon took up his spoon, his other hand still held tightly in the ninja's, and lifted a spoonful of milk and cereal, eyeing it suspiciously before stuffing it in his mouth with a careless shrug. Yuffie giggled and pulled her hand back. Aerith knew this was a dream.

"Did you guys finally have sex?" Cloud asked bluntly, giving them both a would-be frightened look as he pulled his croissant apart.

"What the hell are you on, Strife?" Leon questioned calmly, at the exact same moment that Yuffie said: "What do you mean _finally?_" and Aerith burst out "Honey!"

All three blinked at her.

"Honey?" Yuffie's grin split across her face. "Oh, that's cute." She turned and pinched Cloud's arm. "How you doin', pumpkin nose?"

"I'm honky dory, cookie darling." He replied immediately, tiny smile gracing his lips. Aerith blushed and went back to her home fries. Cloud's smile warmed and he stood, walking around the table and pulling her up by her hand. "Ready to go, lovely?"

"Go where?" She questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It's a surprise." Was all he said, and Aerith waved quickly back at Leon and Yuffie as the blond pulled her out the door. Yuffie blinked after them and then shrugged, stuffing the whole piece of toast in her mouth.

"Are _woo_ weady to 'o?" She muttered at him over the bread.

"Yeah." He dropped his spoon into his bowl and stood, pulling his jacket from off the back of his chair. Briefly, she imagined he took her hand in his, but in reality he simply pushed through the kitchen door, holding it open for her, just like he had every morning since their little talk three months before.

_Squall didn't care that people were staring at him in shock and accusation, disapproval and shame. He didn't care when one of his father's advisors came up and told him his attire was slightly inappropriate. That was part of the world they lived in. No one cared that he might be upset. No one cared that he was now an orphan. All they cared about was that he wasn't properly attired. No one seemed to like the fact that he'd worn jeans and a white t-shirt to Laguna Loire—of all people's—funeral. But luckily Squall didn't give what they thought. He stood by the table latent with vanilla smelling candles and pictures of his father, eyes dry, mouth set in a thin line, shoulders straight. He didn't move for a long time, what seemed like hours, until a large hand placed itself on his shoulder._

"_Squall." Kiros' deep voice was as calm and as quiet as ever. "It's time for the ceremony."_

_Squall nodded._

"_Don't you think—"_

_Squall turned and met his eyes. "He said I wear black too much."_

_If the tall man was startled, he didn't show it. He knew Laguna best, after all, and he nodded silently as Squall stepped passed him, leather shoes echoing throughout the church as he silently made his way down the aisle, passing pews and pews full of people who probably hadn't even known Laguna personally. And so he stood, all eyes on him, dressed inappropriately for any other funeral but not for his father's, the prince, the son, the loved one left behind, and spoke words that were meant for their comfort and not his._

**The sad thing is…he didn't know Laguna all that personally either.**

This morning was beautiful, just like every morning have been beautiful for some time. The darkness infecting the World's core was healing, and the cold temperatures and grey skies were finally fading away, making room for the warm sun and sweet smells Yuffie remembered as a child. By the time she and Leon made their way across the fields behind the castle, the grass and meadow plants were dew free and swaying in a light breeze. The land was enjoying the summer after a very, very long winter. Yuffie enjoyed it too, happily skipping through the grass behind Squall, who had even taken off his jacket, letting the warm sun touch his skin. When they finally reached their destination, the sun was high in the sky and Yuffie felt sweat at the back of her neck. It was glorious.

Squall set his weapon and jacket to the side and brushed stones and pine combs from the ground before he sat against a tree, legs slightly apart and head against the bark. Yuffie settled down beside him, sharing the tree trunk, shoulder almost brushing his, and was silent. This was their spot, she liked to think. Just off the Galbadian forest, a lush, dense forest that had never died, even when the Heartless came. Yuffie thought it was kind of magical, the way the trees whispered and the light danced, and how it gave Squall so much peace. They came here every day, had come since Yuffie had followed him out the day after the ball, fresh with determination. Yuffie believed strongly, actually, in the magic of the forest. Squall had let her stay that day, without complaint, and the day after that, until now. Cloud and Aerith may have only just noticed it, but Yuffie had known for along time. Squall was changing, slowly, but he was. Healing.

"My dad's in here somewhere." He said softly, tilting his head back to look up at the tall tree, right to the top. "He told his friend Kiros that he wanted his ashes scattered here."

Once upon a time, Yuffie would have reacted eagerly to his words, questioning him, pointing out that he had talked about the past. But now she just smiled softly and nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I…don't get it." He continued, hands gripping at the soil beneath his fingers. "This place…isn't my dad at all."

"I think it is." She replied thoughtfully, images of the tall, clumsy, kind and playful man dancing through her mind. "You know…can't you see your dad being a tree?"

He chuckled. "Maybe one of the trees that gets too much sun."

She giggled. "And grows so tall it starts to flop over?"

"Maybe…" He looked up at the tree again. "Maybe he thought it was pretty. Maybe it gave him peace. Hyne knows, he needed a little tranquility."

She smiled and bent a little forward to pick up a pine comb, picking it apart with her fingers. "Where do you think he should be?"

He considered this silently, and she turned to watch as the sunlight and tree shadows flickered across his face and the thoughts flickered across his eyes.

"The ocean," He said, finally. "Always moving, always throwing itself against the sand but never reaching what it wants to. Failing, failing, failing and yet still trying. That's where my dad should be."

She looked at him again, recognizing his tone for what it was. "You think you're going to turn out like your dad?" She didn't think this was such a bad thing. But somehow, for Squall, it would be.

"I already have." He said dryly, eyes glaring forward. "Failing, failing, always failing. Failure. Loire blood is full of it."

"Okay, and when have you _ever_ failed at _anything_?" She asked exasperatedly, staring at him, cool, understanding and unyuffie-ish resolve completely broken by this little piece of ridiculousness. "You're anally perfect." He glared at her and opened his mouth, but she got in before he could snap at her. "Your dad was a goof. But he was kind and he loved and _was_ loved and he was happy. Loire blood is rich with good things. And handsomeness."

He fell silent and turned back to staring out at the fields a short distance away, and she knew she'd said the wrong thing. Squall didn't need to be _told_ that everything bad that he thought or was sure of was wrong. Yuffie needed to make him _believe_ that. She just wasn't sure how.

_I'll remember our deal, Squall. I won't let you be alone. _

"Come on." She jumped up and grabbed his hand, tugging on his arm. "Come on!"

He put one hand back and pushed himself off the ground. "Where are we going?"

"To your dad's _real_ final resting place." She explained with a little grin, pulling him out of the shaded seclusion of the woods and back into the fields. He removed his hand from her grasp and walked much more slowly, watching with slight amusement and fading annoyance as she trudged through the grass towards the ocean. She came to a stop at a high cliff, lifting her arms out and grinning into the sea breeze as it blew at her. He approached cautiously, glancing down at the ocean crashing against the rocks below. She smirked at him. "Scared?"

"No." He replied immediately, and then paused. "Of what?"

"It's a big drop for a swim." She grinned playfully, bending down to pull her shoes and socks off. "You could hit the rocks and go splat."

"I'm not jumping off." He told her coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oooh." She grinned, pulling her headband out of her hair and her bracelets and accessories off her arms. "You _are_ scared. You'll run headfirst into battles but you won't jump off a fifteen-meter cliff. My image of you is completely ruined."

"I'm _not_ scared. I just don't want to swim."

"Yeah, sure." She said, rolling her eyes as she shimmied her shorts all the way down her legs. Squall looked stonily down at the water, torn between keeping his dignity and keeping himself dry. To the side, Yuffie had already pulled off her shirt, and standing in not but her underwear, completely confident, she swung her arms back and forth as if preparing to jump. "If I hit my head, then you'll for _sure_ have to jump after me."

"What makes you think I will?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow, reluctantly pulling his arms through the sleeves of his shirt. "I might decide to leave you."

"Well, I'd just haunt you." She said cheerfully, and he took a moment between pulling his shirt off and undoing his first belt that a few months ago she might have been hurt and angry. "There's no getting rid of me."

"I've noticed." He muttered, stepping forward, towards the cliff.

"Ready?" He nodded and she grinned, pinching her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. Fearless, together they jumped, and Squall pulled himself away from Yuffie's scream, the drop of his stomach and the violent waters below, to feel the rush of falling, the green grass and the blue sky and the life all around him, and the life _inside_ him, and then they were plunging into the cold water, down deep, until all he could see were the bubbles carrying them to the surface and clinging to Yuffie's hair. When they broke free, Yuffie laughed and Squall breathed deep, and they clung to each other. Her eyes were bright and his hair was wet, and they kicked together, feet knocking against each other, but neither cared, _Squall_ didn't care, because both were lost to the life and the ocean, and somehow Squall found the time to think:

"_Woah! Here comes a big one!" Squall squealed with laughter and hid his face in his father's neck as the wave crashed over them both. Laguna whipped wet hair from his face and threw his head back, laughing long and loud, until another wave came along and he was coughing from seawater in his mouth and up his nose. Squall giggled, helping by wiping the salt from his cheeks. He saw another big wave growing behind his father's shoulders, and with another squeal he wrapped his small arms around Laguna's neck, hanging tight. Laguna wiped his tiny son's hair back from his temple and kissed him there._

"_Here we go!" He roared, and the wave came down on them so hard that it crashed over both their heads, but Laguna not once lost his footing, and Squall had never felt safer. Laughing, heart pounding, he swiped the hair from his father's temple and kissed him there too, and they clung together, watching the next wave hurl itself towards them._

**Yes. This is where he is.**

"I don't even have any pictures of him." Squall said softly, regretfully, staring up at the star studded sky. There were so many of them. They were lying together in the field, hair messy and salt incrusted, and clothes finally dry. They hadn't returned to the castle for lunch or for dinner. Squall hadn't wanted to, hadn't wanted to leave this…this piece of life he'd found. So Yuffie had ignored her salty hair and her growling stomach, knowing from the mere fact of his admission that he needed this. She wouldn't have left this for the world, anyway, not his words or the very starry sky or the way he let her rest her head on his leg. This was what she'd always wanted.

She shifted her head up to look at him. "There are lots in the history books up in the library."

"Not the same." He shook his head. "I don't know how they got him to sit still and not smile in those pictures."

"Oh…" She turned back to the sky, frowning thoughtfully. "You mean…like personal photos."

"Yeah."

She thought about that, biting her lip as she realized there was absolutely no way to comfort him or give him hope. There was nothing left from their old lives if they hadn't taken it with them. When she looked up again, he was frowning at the sky, glaring almost, and she knew from experience that the anger was for himself. Slowly, determinedly, because today was a day of miracles, she took his hand.

"He loved you, you know." She said, when he glanced down at her in surprise. Then, he looked back up at the sky, and to _her_ surprise his hand twitched, once, twice, and then his fingers were interlocked with hers, resting carefully on his stomach.

"_Squall!"_

_Squall blinked and turned back, surprised to see his father leaning out of the door, fork and sausage still in hand, staring at him. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What?"_

"_Um…" He seemed to struggle with himself, glanced down at the sausage as if asking it for guidance, and then said slowly, almost hesitantly, "I love you."_

_Squall blinked owlishly, dropping his hand away from his face. He knew, of course. Knew in the way his father made him lunch and gave him backrubs before bed and worried that he was sick when he didn't eat. But knowing and hearing were different. He tossed his hair away from his face, just as lost, and considered asking the sausage for guidance too._

"_I know." He said finally, turning away and continuing on. "I know."_

"I know." He said to Yuffie, and the anger was gone, leaving behind a smile so small most wouldn't see it. But she did. "I know."

* * *

Okay, well. Classic filler chapter just to be cruel since I haven't updated in so long. I hope there was development in Squall the way I intended, and that if there was development it wasn't a jump so huge it made him out of character.

And…well…the only excuse I have is that I love Laguna.

Please Review! Click the button! Moix.


	9. I remember you now Part One

**Promising Entirely  
-------------------**

Um.  
I have no words.  
This is a poem.  
I suck.

--------------

A/N: Yeaaah. I wrote that poem for you guys in apology for my AWOLness. I really do have no excuse. Some of you old readers probably won't even read this because you're sixty and blind now. Some of you probably won't read this 'cause you died already. But for those of you who DO read, I offer you a lifetime of servitude in appreciation. This is not apply to Annjirika, who I know will be reading this anyway and to whom I already owe eight lifetimes of servitude. So.

This, my friends, I would like to call Part 1. It is incredibly short and not anywhere near done. But I hoped that posting it online would get me to write more. It is unedited. It is a draft. But I hope you will forgive me and review anyway. Kthanx.

(I MISSED YOOOOU!)

I Remember You Now - Part One.

* * *

"How the heck do you even work this thing?" Yuffie Kisaragi frowned at the best and evilest invention ever known to man, seeing the knobs and the flashing lights and suddenly missing the wash bucket that she and everyone else had been using for years. A _washing_ machine. Who needed a machine to wash clothes? It wasn't _that_ hard. Sure, sometimes it took a little extra work if you got heartless blood or grape juice on them but it didn't mean they needed something so ridiculously complicated to get the stains out. Cloud and Aerith were lazy. Just lazy. Feeling all domestic because they were getting married and they'd all just moved into a _real_ house and Yuffie just didn't see why she was the one who'd been appointed the task of figuring out how it was supposed to actually _do_ the washing and…

Squall leaned over her and turned the knob a few times until the whir of machinery and rushing water filled the room. Yuffie stared and slowly turned, meeting his eyes with a look of completely dangerous shock. Squall shrugged and held up the user's manual. Yuffie snatched it out of his hand and hit him with it. He smirked.

"Don't you smirk at me!" she said as she waved the small book around. "I have been here for eighteen hours—"

"It's only been twenty minutes…"

"And I could have been buying one pinto bean every hour! Count' em up, that's nine cents worth of pinto beans!"

"You don't even like pinto beans…"

"That's so incidental! _Aerith_ likes pinto beans and I could have bought some for her! But _no_, you had to sit there and watch me struggle when you could have been helping—"

"I didn't think it was so complicated…"

"Squall," She said, drawing herself to her full height, which only made Squall smirk because she didn't have that much, which only made her try and draw herself higher. "You are _insufferable_."

Silence.

"Insufferable?" Squall repeated quietly, after a few long, long few moments in which Yuffie had actually drawn the conclusion that she'd truly insulted him. "You're calling me insufferable?"

"Yes." She said stubbornly, with a trembling air of uncertainty. "Insufferable."

"Because you don't have nine cents worth of pinto beans?"

"They're good for you," she argued weakly, thrown off by his tone, and especially thrown off when he grabbed her wrist and held it tightly, leaned forward, and stared straight into her eyes. "S-Squall."

"Insufferable?" he repeated, backing her into the machine. She swallowed nervously. His body heat was tingling and the fur of his jacket tickled her skin. He was so close. This was one thing she'd never taken into account. The sun was shining and the World was bustling with life; they'd begun restoration of the city, and with a sudden sense of purpose, Leon had taken a huge leap, more than she'd ever been able to accomplish with him in the long time she had known him. It had already been two months, but Yuffie was still surprised whenever she saw him smile. This was what she'd wanted. This was what she'd be aiming for. Except now… with his warmth and his kindness and with him being the Squall she hadn't known since she was nine…she didn't know what to do with him.

"I…" She brought her hands up and pushed at his chest. "Yes, _totally_ insufferable!"

. His arms were sliding around her and he was leaning closer, his eyes on her lips. Yuffie's heart did a strange dance in her chest. Squall Leonhart had her backed against a cursed washing machine. Squall Leonhart was looking at her _that_ way. Squall Leonhart was going to kiss her. Squall Leonhart was going to dump a handful of laundry soap in her hair.

"Squall!" she shrieked, shoving him hard. Weaving stubby-nailed fingers through her short locks and brushing out the powdery soap, Yuffie aimed several short kicks at Squall's ankles. "You big jerk! What was that for?"

Squall chuckled, crossing his arms in a satisfied sort of posturing. "You should be careful what you say to insufferable people."

Huffing, Yuffie groped around in the cupboard above the washer while Squall watched with interest. He wasn't naïve enough, after many years of fighting with her, to think she was not coming up with a plan of revenge. "Hah!" she cried finally, whirling around. In her hands was a bright yellow bottle of liquid laundry soap. She advanced on him.

"Yuffie," he warned, holding up his hands. "Don't do anything rash…"

"Squeezy, squeezy," Yuffie replied evily, squeezing the bottle in her hands so that a drop of blue gel oozed out of the nozzle. "Squeezy all over Squally's jacket…off to dry cleaning with Squally…"

Squall could move quickly when faced with extreme danger. His hand blurred as it shot out, grabbing hold of a nearby mop and holding it in front of him like a sword. They eyed each other and the enemy choice of weapon. For a moment, the air between them crackled with something serious as water dripped on to the floor. Then Yuffie showed him all her vigorously brushed teeth and squirted blue liquid laundry soap on to his chin.

* * *

That's the end. AHAHHA. Like I said, it's not a full thing. It will be added upon. I know you're probably screaming for blood 'cause that's all I have after a million years. Feel free to flame me. Feel free also to tell me if this chapters flows with the rest of the story, or if my writing style has changed completely. Kthanx.

(I MISS YOU A LOT!!!)


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